


Phoenix Daughter

by poetroe



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Bending (Avatar), Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Fights, Friends to Enemies, I'm Bad At Tagging, Light Angst, Slow Burn, catradora, i'll update these as i go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2020-09-02 03:43:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 26,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20269459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poetroe/pseuds/poetroe
Summary: Catra and Adora are two firebending prodigies who have spent their lives training and becoming stronger, in order for one of them to succeed Fire Lord Hordak in the future. But everything changes when the Fire Nation attacks, the two friends are separated and a secret that was lost to the world is revealed.The catradora atla au y’all have been waiting for.





	1. Home

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so excited to finally be able to show you guys what I've been working on !!! I've loved the atla world ever since I was a kid and then @junvii_arts on twitter planted this idea in my head.....I hope y'all enjoy reading my take on this au, I'm going to try to update regularly (at the very least every month) and you can always find me on twitter for sneak peeks: @earthbiood. Have fun reading and see you at the next one !!

Students at the Royal Fire Nation Academy rise at dawn, with the sun. It’s been like this ever since the academy was founded some 600 years ago, and it’s been like this ever since Adora enrolled at age 4. That doesn’t mean she ever gets used to it, though. The morning gong sounds again and Adora contemplates the consequences she would have to suffer if she just stayed here, in bed. In the end, the choice is made for her, in the form of a heavy weight plopping down on her abdomen.

“Oof—Catra, do you want me dead?” Adora laughs, a little breathless as she pulls her closest friend at the academy off her stomach and down next to her, on the bed. Catra looks like she’s thinking about it, a slow grin spreading out over her features.

“If I _really_ wanted you dead, I’d have let you sleep in,” she says. “We have lessons from Shadow Weaver today, remember?” Adora lets a few expletives slip past her tongue and sits up.

“You’re right. If I’m late again, she’ll have my head.”

“Hm, I don’t know,” Catra says as she watches Adora slip into her pants and long-sleeved tunic, fastening the collar before lifting the armored breastplate over her shoulders. “We both know your Shadow Weaver’s favorite.” Adora fastens the belt buckle around her middle and checks the dark cloth that hangs down her thighs. It’s made the same way as her breast and shoulder plating: chainmail rings, linked together and lining the fabric, giving the armor a familiar weight while also enabling her to keep moving fast.

“That’s not true,” Adora replies as she slips on her boots and armguards. She looks up at Catra. “We’re both her top students.” Adora walks over to the mirror, ignoring Catra’s huff as she carefully smooths her hair back into a high ponytail. Her eyes glide down her reflection and she feels pride in the sharp, dark red uniform with the golden details. It makes her feel strong and powerful, like the Fire Nation itself.

For all that Shadow Weaver’s lessons are harsh and absolutely exhausting, Adora revels in repeating the stances that feel as familiar to her as breathing. Her fire is scorching, red hot but completely controlled, a difference of night and day when she glances over to Catra and sees her friend’s wild blue fire, ripping away from her fists in rough bursts. They all move in tandem, Adora and Catra, together with the other people in their small group: Lonnie, Rogelio and Kyle, the children of the generals in the personal council of the Fire Lord. Their combined, rhythmical bursts of fire heat up the training hall and Adora feels the sweat roll down her temples as she continues the movements.

Shadow Weaver simply watches, with piercing yellow eyes above the red cloth that obscures most of her face. She’s the most mysterious person Adora knows, despite being a daily fixture in her life. They say she found Adora and Catra in the most remote places in the Fire Nation and chose them, as the two potential heirs to the throne of Fire Lord Hordak, based solely on their firebending talent. They say she once felled an army of Earth Kingdom soldiers, all on her own. They say she got her firebending from the dragons themselves. Punch, punch, low kick. Adora follow through the motions fluidly and tries to clear her head. They can say a lot of things, but at the end of the day, Shadow Weaver is still just their mentor.

She walks throughout the room with purpose, correcting the stances of everyone except Catra and Adora, who feels a flash of pride at that. Shadow Weaver observes the two of them for a moment, the bursts of Adora’s bright red and Catra’s flashing blue flames.

“Catra,” she speaks in her low voice. “Your form is adequate. But your flame is too large, uncontrolled. Pay more attention to your breathing. It is the basis of your firebending.” Catra’s answer comes in an annoyed huff, the breath streaming from her nostrils like steam, and Adora struggles to keep her facial expression neutral. She knows exactly what that puff of smoke means, and in how much trouble Catra would be had she expressed her irritation in words.

Training is over in a flash, as far as Adora is concerned. The exercises calm her down, no matter what is on her mind. And their sparring matches, outside on the wide terrace in the garden of the palace make her feel positively giddy, even if Catra is the only one who can really match her in a fight. Now they’re sitting in the high noon sun, Catra and Adora and their little group of classmates, drinking water and wiping the sweat from their brows before they have to go on to their weapons training.

Adora grabs the bottle from Catra’s hand, impatient, and swallows a gulp with a grin as Catra punches her arm. She retaliates by tilting the bottle over her head, wasting a little stream of water on Catra’s wild curls.

“Hey!” her friend yells, swatting at Adora’s arms in an effort to stop the assault. Adora just lifts her arm a little higher, tilting the bottle again until Catra takes matters into her own hands and just pushes her over, into the grass. She’s on Adora in an instant, pushing her arms down to the earth and plucking the bottle from her grasp. With a wicked grin she pours the remainder of its contents over Adora’s face, which is contorted into a carefree smile as giggles pour from her lips.

The sound of someone clearing their throat nearby is what eases Catra’s grip on Adora’s wrists, as she slides off Adora into the grass and they both look up at Shadow Weaver. Despite most of it being concealed, the disdain is clearly visible on her face.

“Adora, can I speak to you for a moment?” Adora glances at Catra, looking as surprised as she feels, the water still dripping from her hair and down the bloodred headpiece that frames her face. Slowly, she gets to her feet and wipes the water from her face and the dirt and grass from her uniform, a far cry from the put together soldier she resembled this morning.

Still Adora straightens her spine, puffs up her chest and clasps her hands behind her back, the way she’s supposed to do. “Of course, Shadow Weaver.” Her teacher doesn’t say anything more as she turns around and walks back to the shaded halls of the palace, Adora trailing in her footsteps.

After the harsh sunshine beating down on her, the coolness radiating from the dark stones below her feet is a reprieve. Adora heaves a small sigh, keeps her posture and looks at Shadow Weaver, waiting for her to speak.

“You and Catra will be sent on a mission,” Shadow Weaver says, after a while. She’s looking past Adora, at her friends in the garden. “Fire Lord Hordak’s orders. Lieutenant General Scorpia will inform you of the details after your training session.” She falls silent again, her golden eyes shifting the only sign of some sort of inner turmoil. Then, they meet Adora’s. “You are my brightest pupil,” Shadow Weaver says. Adora opens her mouth to protest, because Catra is _just_ as good as she is, but— “Not just in your talent. You feel as comfortable in your fire as any master.” Adora closes her mouth and nods. “I want you to trust in that,” Shadow Weaver says, softly but intently, like she’s telling a secret. “Trust your inner fire. Use it as an extension of yourself.” Adora nods again.

“I will,” she answers, a little confused. “I always do.” The skin around Shadow Weaver’s eyes smooths out as she nods.

“That’s all I wanted to hear. Dismissed.” Adora smiles back at her in the way she imagines Shadow Weaver is smiling beneath the cloth, confidential and somewhat intimate, before bowing deeply to her teacher and joining the others outside.

***

“What did _she_ want?” Catra asks as Adora rejoins their group. She’s just in time—Catra had been seconds away from urging the others to move on to their weapons training. Adora smiles a sheepish smile and just like that, the annoyance Catra felt at being left out from this private conversation flows from her mind, and her lips turn into a smile again.

“Nothing. Just some stuff about my firebending,” her friend says. Catra rolls her eyes in what she hopes doesn’t come off as annoyed, because she’s not. Or maybe she is a little, but just at Shadow Weaver.

“Right,” Catra replies. “Because you really need that extra help, huh?” She bumps their shoulders together as they walk the cool halls of the palace. Adora snorts.

“See, I told you I wasn’t Shadow Weaver’s favorite,” she says. “She corrects us both.”

“Yeah, only she tells you in private. Me, she embarrasses in front of the lot of _them_.” Catra covertly motions to Rogelio, Kyle and Lonnie, rounding the corner some distance ahead of them.

“So she uses a different approach,” Adora counters, wearing a lopsided smirk. “Maybe she just figured out that threatening your reputation works as your biggest motivator.”

“That’s not true!” Catra opposes, indignant.

“What, you deny your compulsive need to be better than me?”

Catra quirks a grin. “No. Because I _am_ better than you.” Another snort from Adora, and a soft punch to her shoulder.

“Yeah, sure,” she says, her blue eyes shining with joy. “Keep dreaming, Catra.” The two firebenders are still grinning as they enter the hall used for specialized weapons training.

In front of the two Fire Nation banners that cover parts of the red brown wooden paneling stands Scorpia, former Lieutenant General in the Fire Nation Army and weapons specialist. She’s tall and broad-shouldered, her white hair styled in a tight topknot and her dark eyes on the five of them as they filter into the room. The walls on both her sides are lined with an array of weapons from the different nations: clubs and staffs with giant tiger shark teeth attached to them from the Water Tribes; heavy war hammers, delicate bows and a shelf filled with daggers from the Earth Kingdom; all shimmering in the candle light, but still not that impressive-looking in face of the vast majority of Fire Nation weapons in the room. Catra’s eyes glide over the army issued long swords, both two handed and single handed. Then past the katanas, the twin blades, the hook swords, the curved sables, a broad sword and a collection of spears in the far corner of the room. A whip in between the shiny blades catches her eye and briefly, Catra hopes that’s what they’ll get to work with today.

There are no Air Nomad weapons, because the Air Nomads are pacifist cowards who hide away far up on their mountains, probably filling the day with meditating and lazing around. Though no nation or place on earth could weigh up against the Fire Nation, Catra thinks she might respect the Air Nation the least. She takes her place next to Adora, matching her stance and puffing up her chest as they wait for Scorpia to begin the class.

The Lieutenant General introduces them to the Han sword, a by all means mediocre weapon. It originated in the Earth Kingdom a couple hundred years ago and was adopted by the Fire Nation military some years later—the history lesson about the weapon in question is the most boring part of the class, which Catra traditionally spends staring through the shutters at the garden outside, at the mats on the floor or at Adora, who is _always_ paying attention, coming up with ways in which she can get the jump on her best friend when they spar.

Catra is observing how the daylight hits the gold-plated headpiece in Adora’s ponytail when Scorpia suddenly, roughly clears her throat and looks at her directly. Instinctively Catra straightens her spine and focuses her attention.

“Catra, let’s start with you.” Scorpia throws her a sword and Catra catches it expertly. “Get in your stance.” With her years of sword fighting experience, Catra’s feet slide into their positions easily. Her left one in front of her right one, a considerable space between them as she angles her body sideways. Standing like this makes her a smaller a target and gives her ample space to slash, thrust parry or block. With a confident smirk, as she gets used to the weight and the balance of the sword in her hand, Catra waits on Scorpia to give her an opponent.

Eventually, she decides on Lonnie, who Catra knows relies on her bending way more than any traditional Fire Nation weapons. The girl takes position opposite of her and with glee, Catra notes the slight unease with which she holds the sword.

Then Scorpia says “begin,” and from that moment on it’s no holds barred. Catra zeroes in on the weaknesses of Lonnie’s stance and thrusts her sword forward, aiming at the right side of her abdomen. Lonnie parries, angling Catra’s sword away, but she’s too slow in retaliating and before she can even assume an offensive stance, Catra is already attacking again; this time swinging at her legs. Lonnie jumps, but Catra follows through the movement and swivels on one leg, sticking the other out and sweeping Lonnie’s legs out from under her right as she lands. With a yell, Lonnie falls on her butt. Catra jumps to her feet quickly and plants the tip of her sword on Lonnie’s chest, pushing down slightly.

“Do you surrender?” Catra asks, as is expected of her. It has to do with the rules of the Fire Nation’s extensive martial arts tradition, in which skill and honor hold equally high positions. She raises an eyebrow at her opponent, who still hasn’t answered. Lonnie looks absolutely pissed, breathing in forcefully, causing the sword to dig even deeper into her expanding chest and Catra thinks she might just say no and accept the consequences. Scorpia intervenes before any of them can find out, grabbing Catra’s sword hand over the hilt.

“Good job,” she says. “Alright, Adora and Rogelio, you’re up.” Scorpia smirks as she hands them the sword. It’s no secret that Adora’s as good with weapons as she is with bending, and Rogelio is the best one out of all of them once he’s holding a blade in his hand. Catra takes a seat on the floor next to Kyle, who’s sitting against the wall, to watch.

“Move over,” she tells him as she squints. The sunlight falls through the open windows into the room, directly into her eyes. Kyle nods and quietly shuffles away as Catra takes his place, and folds her legs.

Her eyes stay on Adora the whole fight, maybe even throughout the duration of the class. She follows her friend’s movements like a hawk: the way she moves, flowing from offense to defense and back again as if she were a waterbender; her technique and how she uses the sword; and maybe most of all, the look of utter determination in her eyes. It’s one she probably often wears herself, Catra thinks. She and Adora are alike in a lot things, after all. It’s why they get along so well.

Two hours later, their group of five is lined up in front of Scorpia again, this time sweaty and slightly hunched from the exertion. “Before I dismiss you for today, I have an order from the Fire Lord to relay.” This catches everyone’s attention and like an invisible wave rolling through the room, they simultaneously straighten their backs. There is an abundance of reports, newspapers and images from the campaign in the east, the victories and conquered cities of the Earth Kingdom being documented in excruciating detail for the home front. There’s not so much coming directly from the Fire Lord himself, though, making this instance a welcome deviation from the pattern. Catra is filled with a need to succeed, at whatever it is Scorpia is about to tell them. She won’t let Fire Lord Hordak down. “The five of you will be sent to a coastal Earth Kingdom village where an underground resistance is causing trouble for our forces,” Scorpia says, her eyes gliding over the five of them. “The main objective of this mission is to make sure the harbor becomes fully operational by taking away the constant thread of sabotage. Adora will run point, so make sure to listen to what she has to say.” The little pang of jealousy in her chest goes paired with a surge of pride and with a grin, Catra punches Adora’s shoulder, mouthing ‘nice’. Adora returns her smirk and stands up a little straighter. “You will get additional information before you leave,” Scorpia says. “Dismissed.”

Immediately after bowing to Scorpia and leaving the room, Adora grabs Catra’s hand and pulls her along, away from the others, back to the garden. The air is hot and sticky in the sunshine, but sitting in the grass, in the shade below the large oak tree feels perfect. Catra lets herself really feel the warmth and briefly revels in the way her inner flame responds to it. She loves the summer for this exact reason—there’s no other time when it burns this brightly.

“So,” Adora says, as she looks at her hands, that are fidgeting with little blades of grass. “Are you looking forward to the mission? It’ll be our first time outside the Fire Nation.”

“Yeah, definitely,” Catra answers. “I can’t wait to kick some rebel butt. I feel like I’ve been cooped in here and forced to go easy for too long.”

“Go easy?” Adora asks with a raised eyebrow. “You never go easy on me.” Catra just shrugs.

“You know what I mean. Kyle or any of the others aren’t exactly challenging opponents.” Adora snorts.

“That’s true,” she says. “I guess it’ll be nice to not have to hold back, huh?” Adora’s eyes are twinkling in the sunlight as she shares a secretive smile with Catra. A warm breeze tickles a few strands of her loose hair against her face and Catra turns towards it. She’s never been to the Earth Kingdom before, but she imagines it can’t come close to this. Briefly, she thinks about that as much as she can’t wait to go on this mission, she also can’t wait for it to be over and to be back home again, where it’s just the two of them against the world.


	2. The Mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not kidding when I say this au has me in a vice-like grip !!! so much so that I wrote all of this second chapter today. like all my work it's not proofread and I want y'all to know this kind of updating speed only happens rarely for me, still I'm glad I managed to upload it today !! maybe my hyperfocus isn't all bad, lmao enjoy reading!

They have to be at the harbor at dawn to board the warship that will take them to the continent and for once, Adora finds she has no trouble waking up. She’s been twisting and turning all night in anticipation for today: not just will this be her first real task for the Fire Lord and the Fire Nation, but also her first mission as a leader.

The cold of the night still lingers, just like the fog over the dark water of the harbor, as the sun tentatively shines its first beams over the red roofs of the houses, inns and warehouses that surround the harbor. Adora hoists her bag with a change of clothes a little higher on her shoulder as she walks in step with Catra. They arrive at the place where their ship is docked; it’s an older cruiser, but still as large and impressive looking as a Fire Nation Navy ship ought to be. They don’t bother waiting for the others to show up—with excited grins plastered on their faces and giddiness thrumming below their skin, Adora and Catra board the ship and find their way to the conning tower.

After the initial meetings with the main crew and the captain, and after Rogelio, Lonnie and Kyle have boarded the ship, they’re off. Catra has left somewhere in the commotion of departing the harbor and it’s only when they’re at full sea that Adora thinks to look for her. She can’t help it—being in the command room of the ship, accompanied with the captain and the first mate has her feeling obligated to pay attention. These are her superiors after all, and she can learn from them.

Once they’re at sea, Adora leaves the conning tower for what it is and makes her way back down to the deck. There, at the spiked bow, at the very front of the ship she finds Catra. She’s sitting on a crate, her legs pulled up and her arms hugging them close to her chest.

“Hey,” Adora says as she walks up to her friend. “Move over, will you?” Catra’s only response is shifting a little on the wood to make place for Adora. The salty wind that blows here is cold and piercing, so Adora wastes no time in sitting down and pressing her arm to Catra’s. “What’s up?” she asks, after the other girl stays quiet. “You’re not getting seasick, are you?” Catra snorts.

“Of course not,” she answers. “Do I look like Kyle?” Adora almost feel bad for laughing at that, because she just saw the boy, looking even paler than usual and hanging over the railing at the back of the ship, close to puking his guts out.

“Then what is it? You’ve been quiet ever since this morning,” she says. “Are you scared?” The disgust that instantly appears on Catra’s face has Adora grimacing. “I mean, I know you’re not, but it’s okay if you are.”

“I’m just…a little nervous, I guess,” Catra answers, as she looks away from Adora and back at the great, deep blue expanse in front of them. This might be the most silent and serious Adora has ever seen her usually so carefree friend and she can’t help but think it’s a little unnerving. She puts her arm around Catra’s shoulders and pulls her close, basking in the heat that radiates off her like glowing embers in the night. Adora can only hope she can offer the same comforting warmth in return.

“Don’t worry. Nothing truly bad can happen as long as we stick together,” she says, softly. “Besides, you and I both know we’re among the best firebenders in the country. We got this.” Catra’s mismatched eyes move back to hers, and soften. She sighs deeply and lets herself slump impossibly closer against Adora’s chest.

“Yeah. You’re right.”

The trip takes up the largest part of the day and by the time the ragged mountains of the Earth Kingdom come into sight, the sun is already halfway done making its descent behind them. It’s quiet in the small harbor when they dock there, the windows of all the houses closed shut and little to no people lingering on the streets. Their actual mission starts tomorrow and they’re probably all tired from the trip, but seeing these strange new surroundings being painted in the colors of the setting sun fills Adora with a renewed energy.

“Hey, Catra,” she says when her friend meets her on the deck. Adora tries not to get distracted by the way the golden hour makes Catra’s eyes seem more like molten gold and the shimmering sea they just crossed than their regular yellow and blue. She quickly grabs Catra’s hand and turns back to the village, instead. “Let’s go explore before it’s dark.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? The sun is already setting.” Catra replies, though she doesn’t hesitate in following Adora off the gangplank and onto the pier.

“Yeah, of course,” Adora answers. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“Uh, we could get ambushed?” Catra deadpans. “Did you not listen when Scorpia said we were going to be dealing with rebels in this town?”

“It’ll be _fine_, trust me,” Adora replies. “We’re just looking around for a bit. And we’ll be quick. Think of it as recon.” She’s still holding Catra’s hand and gives it a comforting squeeze. “We’ll be back before you know it.”

“If you say so,” Catra answers with a shrug, as she falls into step. The houses here, compared to the ones they left behind in the Fire Nation look positively glum, built from unpainted wood that looks worn in most places, just plain old in others. They have none of the delicacy of the houses in the harbor town they departed from this morning, instead looking how Adora imagines the earthbenders that live in them to be: simple, functional, perhaps not particularly beautiful but sturdy and reliable.

In fact, Adora hasn’t seen any Earth Kingdom citizens all day. The streets have been empty since they arrived about an hour ago, which for a village of this size is strange. All the windows of the shops are closed, the windows and doors of the houses shut. It’s as if the people of this town have been preparing for a storm. Catra kicks at a rock beside her, blue flames from her feet shooting off in different directions as she gives the rock a boost and it shoots off, hitting a storefront across the street. Adora doesn’t say anything about it, but one thing does suddenly become clear to her. To these people, they are the storm. With a frown slowly settling on her face, she keeps walking.

The sun has fully set now, the last light quickly fading and turning the deep blue sky into a silky black, as night settles over the town. When Adora glances up, she can see a vast array of stars, the same ones she sees when she’s out in the garden at night. Briefly, she wonders if they have the same names here.

“This is a ghost town,” Catra suddenly says as they round a corner and enter upon another narrow, empty street. Adora tears her gaze away from the twinkling lights and looks at the houses. Like everywhere else in the village, they’re closed off entirely, not even a sliver of light falling on the dusty street.

“Maybe they’re scared of us,” Adora answers. “We are from the Fire Nation, after all.” Catra scoffs in disdain.

“This village has been in Fire Nation hands for decades. We’ve always used this harbor and allowed the people who lived here to stay,” she says. “Does the Earth Kingdom not understand hospitality?” Though Adora has a sinking suspicion hospitality in this case has been granted _to_ them, not _by_ them, she doesn’t correct Catra. It’s true that the Fire Nation has been active here for generations, using the port as a gateway to the interior of the Earth Kingdom and as a base to get supplies and the like, but as far as Adora knows, that had never gone accompanied by violence against the town’s inhabitants.

It’s getting late and Adora is about to ask Catra if she wants to go back, when she takes another step and feels the earth shift beneath her foot. The unexpected move has her off balance and is followed by a succession of rocks the size of her head hitting her back and her legs, throwing Adora to the ground. Catra yells something, already moving towards her, but before she can reach Adora she is met with a barrage of rocks herself. Adora jumps back to her feet quickly, carefully feeling for any changes in the dirt as she assumes a stance, while Catra sends the rocks coming for her flying with wild bursts of her fire.

Regardless of the two of them being pummeled by rocks, Adora hasn’t seen any benders yet. She jumps, moving around the streets as she avoids the flying rocks. “Whoever is doing this, come out now and we’ll go easy on you!” Adora yells at the empty street.

“Really?” Catra loudly whispers as she kicks down a rock that was headed for a face with a burst of blue. She sounds almost like a child, wearing that pout and unbelieving expression. It brings a smile to Adora’s face.

“Of course not, silly,” she whispers back. “We’re not going to hold back for _anyone_, right?”

“Right,” Catra replies, grinning. They don’t have to say anything to each other—when Adora starts running to the street corner where she suspects the bending is coming from, Catra follows in her trail instantly. Sure enough, around the corner stands a kid who can’t be any older than they are, bare feet planted into the dirt in a bending stance. Adora is on him directly, kicking down a wall of fire. The boy can only erect a wall of earth in the nick of time, but from behind Adora Catra comes flying, breaking the earth with a mean slice of fire. Adora uses the opening to punch flames from her fists, her heart jumping up as she hears the kid groan. It feels good, tag teaming like this; it’s something they never get to do at home.

Catra is ready to deal a final blow when the boy’s brown eyes grow wide, he throws his hands up and yells: “Wait!” They both pause, hands hovering to a stop in the air, which feels charged and thick with the heat of firebending.

“Don’t move,” Catra says in a low voice, meant to sound serious and menacing. “Or there’s a definite chance I’ll burn your eyebrows off.” The boy scrambles away from them a bit, but Catra raises her hand and he stops moving. “I mean it.”

“Sorry,” the kid says, digging his hands in the dirt in what is probably a nervous habit. “I shouldn’t have attacked you.”

“You’re right,” Adora says. She moves in front of Catra and crouches down, so she can look the boy in the eye. From up close, she realizes he must be even younger than she thought him to be. “So why did you?” The boy’s face contorts in a grimace, probably because he’s indecisive about telling them the truth. Adora puts a hand on his shoulder, but he flinches away from the touch.

“Tell us!” Catra snarls. “Or you’ll regret it.”

“Okay, I’m sorry,” the boy says, again. “I just—” His eyes shoot from Adora to where Catra is looming behind her, and back again. “I just wanted to help.”

“Help who?” Catra asks as she leans down too and grabs him by the scruffy collar of his tunic. With ease, she lifts him off the ground and against the wall of a house. Her free hand opens into a blue flame, flickering hauntingly in the dark. “Who do you work for?” There’s wetness gathering in the corners of his dark eyes and Adora puts a hand on Catra’s free arm, a futile attempt to get her friend to be a little less frightening. “Well?” Catra demands. The boy relents, gaze falling to the floor as he answers in a silent voice.

“The resistance,” he mutters. “I wanted to help protect the town.”

“From us?” Adora asks, surprised. The kid glances back up at her and she’s taken aback at how his eyes have hardened.

“From any firebender,” he says, all but spitting out the words. “We want to be independent. Like we were before _you_ got here.” Adora doesn’t know what to say to that, but Catra is already reacting. With a sneer, she pushes him higher up the wall.

“That’s too bad,” she says, “because we are here, now. And you’re going to tell us where the base of the resistance is.”

***

It feels good to get a head start on their mission. The sun is rising over the mountain range in the distance and Catra breathes in deeply, feeling its heat and power down to the very tips of her toes. The kid from last night had been all too willing to give them the information they needed, in the face of her scorching fire. It’s his own fault for attacking them so recklessly, Catra thinks.

It’s not exactly surprising that Adora is the last one of their team to make it to the deck. She’s fiddling with her ponytail, quickly securing the golden headpiece before taking her place in front of them, like a leader ought to do.

“You’re late,” Catra remarks with a lazy grin.

“Shut up,” Adora says, quickly covering her own grin with the mask of a serious and capable team leader. “Okay, guys, listen up. Catra and I encountered a hostile earthbender last night.” Catra sees the others perk up at that in her peripheral vision and her chest swells with pride. “We managed to get the location of the resistance’s secret base out of him,” Adora continues. “When we depart, that’s where we’ll go. This kid was easy to beat, but we don’t know what kind of benders they have hidden away in there. Remember to stay on guard.” She hesitates and Catra can see her think about whether she has said everything she needed too. “Uh remember to watch each other’s backs. And fight with the courage of a thousand dragons.” Adora salutes the four of them and without hesitation, they return it. “Alright,” Adora says, the smile reappearing on her face. “Let’s move out!”

The streets are still empty. Catra looks around, trying to glance in between the cracks of the windows at any sign of life as they walk the narrow path, the same way she had gone with Adora yesterday. It all looks different in the daylight, and if not for the obvious remnants of earthbending, Catra would not even have recognized the street where they encountered the boy who was too brave for his own good. But the earth wall still stands, albeit crumbling, and the black marks on the ground aren’t yet washed away by the rain, either.

Adora leads them further into the side street, around the corner and stops in front of what looks to be a flower shop. “According to the intel we have, the base is through here, in a back room.” Her blue eyes flash with determination and Catra swallows as they fall on her. “Don’t hold back,” Adora says. “Let’s go.” She releases a deep breath through her nostrils as steam, and opens the door.

There room is filled with pots and different types of flowers, some of which Catra recognizes, a small path left cleared out in the middle. There are fire lilies, white lotus flowers and the panda lilies that also grow in the garden at the complex, back home. Adora walks past them without even sparing them a glance, instead focused on the closed door at the end of the room. She grabs the handle, but the door won’t budge. Adora throws a glance backwards, a silent warning, and Catra grins. She knows what comes next.

With a kick powered by bright, scorching flames, Adora knocks down the door. The wood catches on fire pretty fast, but none of them pay it any mind as they step over it and enter further into the backroom.

Rocks are getting hurled at her head again before Catra can so much as blink and she curses as she dives to avoid them. A quick headcount tells Catra it’s the five of them against six rebels. Or five, because the kid with the bow and arrows doesn’t look like he can do much damage. Especially not to her, she thinks as she grins and opens the palms of her hands. Blue flames flicker into being, a nice contrast to the red fire Adora and the others are unleashing upon the people in front of them. The earthbenders keep up, annoyingly enough, by raising blocks of earth to defend against the streams of fire, following through by using the blocks to trap them against the far wall.

If there’s anything Catra hates, it’s fighting indoors. And it’s exactly for this reason—she has only her quick reflexes to thank for the jump over the block of earth. Catra uses her momentum to fall into a roll, an arrow missing her by the width of a hair as she extends her legs and twists, creating a vortex of blue fire right below the faces of her opponents. Three of them quickly jump back, lifting their arms and moving them down as they land, bringing a whole arsenal of stone tiles from the roof with them. Catra curses as she shields her head with her arms and tries to steel her back against the falling roof tiles. A glance over her shoulder shows her Adora, freeing the others from the earth blocks before she turns and starts kicking fierce fireballs to the earthbenders at the other side of the room. The barrage of tiles has ended and Catra joins her, a tandem of blue and red fire flashing in the backroom.

Suddenly a small figure, who had been standing behind the earthbenders and who hadn’t really caught Catra’s attention until now, jumps up far higher than anyone should be able to, through the newly formed hole in the roof. It’s probably the shock of suddenly seeing an airbender right before her very eyes that has Catra stilling in her movements, frozen by the anticipation of what the girl suspended in the air is going to do next. Then the girl grimaces and lifts her wooden staff and Catra realizes she’s waited too long—the window to shoot her out of the sky with a well-aimed blast is gone. She does the only thing she can do and braces herself, watching as the girl swings the staff down ferociously.

No matter how strong Catra’s stance, she can’t avoid being thrown against the wall of the backroom by the blast of wind that the swing created. The girl has come back down, now and is saying something to the archer. Instinctively, Catra knows what’s about to happen and she jumps to her feet before the earthbenders can trap her hands in their element. A glance at Adora sees her fighting an earthbender in close combat while Rogelio, Lonnie and Kyle are busy with the other two. The airbender girl suddenly moves again, jumping onto the roof with the archer in her arms like it’s nothing, apparently eager to make her escape. Catra isn’t going to let that happen.

“Adora!” she yells as she fires two last bolts of fire at the earthbender she’d been dealing with. “I’m going after them!” Without waiting for a reply, Catra jumps too, fueling fire through her arms and pushing it out of her balled fists, trusting it to lift her off the ground and bring her to the roof.

She can hear Adora yell something at the others as she lands on the roof and starts running after the two escaped rebels. The archer is running as quickly as his feet can carry him, but the airbender has chosen to use her multifunctional staff as a glider and flies along the connected roofs. Catra jumps up, kicks a leg out and hits the tail of the glider with her fire. The girl yelps as she swerves, but keeps flying. But Catra’s blue flames have turned to orange as they continue eating away at the fabric of the glider and with a grin, she sees the girl land on the roof as she closes the glider in an attempt to stifle the fire.

Adora has caught up now and runs beside her as they chase the archer and the airbender down the street. Catra knows they’ll probably reach the end of the village soon, and it won’t do to lose these two members of the resistance in the shadows of the forest that lies beyond. She balls her fists again and shoots up, into the sky, ignoring Adora’s surprised yelp as the force of it almost blows her off the roof. The wind whips against her face as Catra bends fire balls in rapid succession, firing them all at the few roofs in front of the archer and the airbender.

She comes back down only a few steps behind of them, right as Adora reaches them, too. “I think you’ve run enough,” Catra says, determined. Her fire is raging inside her chest and she feels it with every breath she takes, ready to be let loose. “This ends here.” The archer abandons his scared expression with a shake of his shoulders and fires an arrow as soon as he nocks it, catching Catra off guard. In the end it’s Adora who pulls her to the side, almost pulling her off the roof.

“Wait!” Adora yells. “We won’t attack if you choose to turn yourselves in and come peacefully.”

“Turn ourselves in?” the girl speaks, crossing her arms defiantly. “But we haven’t done anything wrong.”

“You’ve been sabotaging Fire Nation ships that dock here, you have interfered with trade routes and supplies, you have attacked Fire Nation soldier, unprovoked,” Catra spits out. “You’re coming with us, whether you like it or not.” The girl’s expression goes from defiant to mad and Catra can feel the anger radiating off Adora, too. With a pang of regret, Catra realizes she might have accidentally ruined their chances of resolving this peacefully. Oh well.

“We haven’t done anything the Fire Nation hasn’t done to us,” the airbender says. She swings her staff, creating a strong wind that not only almost blows Catra and Adora off the roof, but which causes the fires on the roof behind the two rebels to flare up. Adora uses the same technique Catra had earlier and lets her fire rip from her hands as she walks against the forceful wind, gaining speed until she reaches the airbender and is able to attack.

Adora’s attack cuts the wind short as the girl has to use the full extent of her abilities to avoid Adora’s rapid blasts, which allows Catra to run up to the archer. He’s shooting continuously as she comes closer and the repeated dodging is slowing her down. Still, eventually Catra manages to get close and starts punching at his openings and sweeping at his legs, adding a layer of heat to every punch and kick. The archer is nimble though, and manages to keep jumping away just far enough to get in a shot.

It’s starting to get annoying so Catra turns to where Adora is locked in a bending exchange with the airbender, the both of them hurling powerful blasts of their respective elements to the other at a rapid pace. “Adora!” Catra yells, over all the natural violence happening around her. The archer fires another shot, that she dodges just in time. “Switch with me!” It happens too fast for Catra to be sure, but she could swear there’s an exasperated-but-fond expression on Adora’s face as she somersaults in the direction of the archer and starts pummeling him with fire. With a grin, Catra turns to the airbender, who is still wearing a murderous expression.

Like that face Adora made, what happens next goes just an instance too fast for Catra to be totally sure of what’s going on. The airbender bends two aimed blasts of wind, one directed at her and one at Adora. The force of it sends Catra flying, but as she grabs onto the ledge just before she falls, she sees that Adora is still standing as firmly as she had stood a second ago. There’s a lull in the fight where everyone stands, frozen in time, and what, had that airbender girl missed? There’s an expression of utter shock on her face and Catra thinks that a missed shot can’t possibly be what made her look like that, and what suddenly made everyone stop fighting. With a groan, she tries to push herself back onto the roof. Adora turns to her and the expression on her face makes Catra pause. It’s a mixture of shock and horror like she has never seen before.

Then, the sound of a bowstring being released and the sharp ringing of metal hitting metal fills Catra’s ears, and her vision turns to black.


	3. Crossroad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys welcome back !! it's 2am rn but i just finished this and i wanted to get it up as soon as i could, because it's been a while and u deserve it !! hope u love this and see u at the next one xx

Catra’s limp body hasn’t even hit the ground or the airbender is at her throat again with the staff, managing to look frightening despite the fact that Adora has experience with weapons ten times more fearsome than this.

“What was that just now?” the girl asks through gritted teeth, her brown eyes shining with a mixture of unbelief and fear as they stare into Adora’s. “Who are you? How did you just airbend, I saw you—” She hesitates, glancing at the archer and back again. “This doesn’t make any sense.” Adora finds she feels the same way.

“Glimmer, didn’t you just miss?” the archer speaks up as he approaches them. Adora’s thoughts flit to Catra’s unconscious state on the street and right, it’s two against one now.

“I didn’t miss, Bow,” Glimmer declares. “I never miss. I’m getting my tattoos soon, which means I’ll be a master—I. Didn’t. _Miss_.” She looks Adora up and down, inquisitively. “The question should be, what did _you_ do?” The boy turns towards her as well, raising his eyebrow, and Adora feels her cheeks flush in sudden embarrassment.

“I? Uh, I don’t know?”

“I know,” the airbender says grimly. “You airbended.” The archer’s jaw drops and Adora feels like laughing.

“That’s ridiculous,” she says. “I’m a firebender. There is no way.” Glimmer narrows her eyes and steps closer to her, planting her index finger in the red fabric of Adora’s uniform.

“And yet you did.”

“I can think of one explanation,” Bow suddenly says, a look of utter resignation in his eyes. Adora doesn’t know what to make of any of this—a moment ago they were still fighting, now this angry, pink-haired girl and dark-skinned boy are looking at her like she’s some sort of monster. Not because she’s from the Fire Nation, but for some other, deeper lying reason, and the fact that Adora seems to be the only one among the three of them who’s not following frustrates her to no end.

“What?” she asks, agitated.

“You’re the Avatar,” the boy says, immediately casting his gaze down to the cracked roof tiles below his feet. The airbender sucks in a deep breath and keeps looking at her, angry as ever. Meanwhile, Adora isn’t sure she heard right.

“What’s an…Avatar?” A silence descends over the roof like dust settling after a fight, disturbed only by the wind and the sounds of what has to be Lonnie, Rogelio and Kyle fighting the rebel earthbenders back at their base. Adora’s two opponents just look at her, slack jawed and a little disturbed.

“You don’t know?” the archer asks, with something akin to pity in his eyes. Adora huffs.

“So what if I don’t?” she counters. “What’s the big deal about this Avatar thing?”

“The _big deal_,” Glimmer explains, sounding not unlike Shadow Weaver when she’s close to losing her patience with Catra, “is that the Avatar is can bend all four elements, is the bridge between the spirit and the material world, and is supposed to maintain balance in the world. Which means being on the side of good, not—” She glances at Adora’s uniform with disdain. “Well. You know.”

Adora feels like most of this is just going to go right over her head if she doesn’t take the time to find out exactly what it is the airbender is talking about. “Bending all four elements?” she asks. “I only bended two, right?” Adora narrows her eyes. “If what you say is true.” Glimmer rolls her eyes and leans on her staff, seemingly all done with explaining this foreign concept to her enemy. Adora knows how she feels, but she has to get to the bottom of this before she can think about attacking either of them again.

“Of course it’s true. I felt it myself.”

“So what does this mean?” Adora asks, as she moves her weight from one foot to the other, and back again. “I guess you guys want me to switch sides, right? To join the rebellion, to turn my back on the Fire Nation and become a traitor to everyone and everything I’ve ever known?” Glimmer and Bow exchange a look.

“We want to do the right thing,” Bow speaks, quietly. “And we want you to do the same. It’s the Avatar’s responsibility to maintain balance in the world.” His deep brown eyes find Adora’s and she can’t say she finds anything other than complete truthfulness in them. “Do you really think it’s right, the Fire Nation occupying land that isn’t theirs, pressuring people who owe no loyalty to them into giving up resources?” A bitterness sneaks into his tone. “Because it’s _not_. It’s everything you should be fighting against.

“It’s not like that,” Adora protests, but it comes out weak with uncertainty. The empty village and the hatred in the earthbender kid’s eyes when he attacked her and Catra last night lie fresh in her memory. “The Fire Nation has been doing well these past few decades. We’re just trying—” A deep breath leaves her lungs, solidifying her somewhat. “The Fire Lord just wanted to share that with the world.” Glimmer scoffs, as she turns her back to Adora.

“That’s what they told you, huh?” she says. The sharpness of her voice could cut through metal. “Maybe that justifies it for you. Maybe that enables you to look past the abuse the Fire Nation soldiers commit. I’ll tell you one thing, though.” When Glimmer turns back to face Adora, her face is contorted into a sad and angry expression that’s almost painful to look at, with tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. “It didn’t justify _killing my father_.”

The words aren’t done sinking in yet by the time she opens her glider and takes off, already disappearing towards the forest by the time Adora manages to open her mouth and yell: “Wait!” But Glimmer is gone, leaving her alone with Bow, the both of them standing around uselessly on the roof. All of a sudden drained by Glimmer’s emotional outburst, Adora drops to her knees. The tiles crack under the force with which she comes down. She could probably be content with sitting like this forever, Adora thinks, now that her whole world had turned on its head and she was suddenly the most important person in it. “So what now?” she asks.

“I’m going to go after her,” Bow says solemnly as he puts his bow in his quiver and starts pulling loose arrows out of the roof. “What you do is up to you.” It’s a free choice, technically, but Adora feels like she doesn’t have a choice at all.

“What did she mean by the Avatar being a bridge between worlds?” she asks. Her mind is reeling from everything that has been revealed and is “And bending the four elements—how does that even work?”

“Don’t ask me,” Bow shrugs, before walking to the edge of the roof. “That’s Avatar stuff. I can’t help you with that. I can introduce you to the people who can, though.” He looks at Adora and gives her tentative smile, before jumping off the roof and onto the dusty street below. Adora stays where she is, torn between everything she used to know and her unrelenting need for answers.

This roof with the cracked tiles, marred with the traces from the fight feels like a crossroad, a tipping point in her life. On the one hand, there’s everything Adora has ever known—or thought she’d known. Her life in the Fire Nation, her friends, her family…she glances at the street, where the archer is standing. Catra is still down there. Can she really leave her behind like that? Adora sighs, and remembers everything Bow and Glimmer just told her. If she really is the Avatar—whatever that is, anyway—she has an obligation, a duty to the world. She would have to turn against everyone in her former life. She would be alone.

“Are you coming?” Bow shouts. There is an urge inside Adora that’s telling her to go, that makes her feel like this is important, and the right thing to do. The urge forms into a voice. _Go_.

There’s no more doubt in her steps as she follows Bow’s example and jumps onto the street. Seeing Catra’s unconscious body lie still in the street tugs on her heart like desperate fingers on a bowstring, but Adora ignores it. This is what she has to do. Swallowing down the lump in her throat, she follows Bow out of the town, and into the forest.

***

Every bone in her body hurting and a face covered in dirt is what Catra wakes up to. That, and the concerned faces of Rogelio, Lonnie and Kyle as they stand over her.

“I’m guessing they got away?” she mutters demurely as she sits up, slapping the dust from the street off her clothes. Her body is stiff and kind of painful from having laid in an awkward position and she has a splitting headache, still Catra instantly takes in her surroundings. The house they fought on looks a mess, but neither Adora or the two rebels they fought are there anymore. With a sigh, she rests her head in her hands, feeling the bump on her forehead, below her headpiece that must have been the reason she passed out. “Where’s Adora, is she okay?” Catra asks as she rubs over it. She’s probably going to feel that one for the next couple of days. When no one answers, she looks up at her team, confused. “What, was she injured?”

“We don’t know,” Lonnie answers, her arms crossed and her face shaped in its usual solemn expression. “When we got here she was gone, and you were out.”

“Yeah, what happened?” Kyle asks as his eyes dart to the roof and the destruction there.

“We were fighting them,” Catra says. “We were winning. Adora and I, we were going to take in those two rebel kids and be off.” With a sigh, she stands up. “Tag-teaming went alright. Up until the moment that we switched and the airbender hit us both with a blast of wind. And then—” Catra pauses, because it’s not actually all that clear to her what happened to her. She remembers gripping the ledge of the roof just before tumbling off, as well as Adora’s horrified expression. She has known Adora her whole life, but never has Catra seen her best friend look like that.

“And then?” Rogelio mutters, and Catra realizes she’s fallen silent.

“And then the archer took me out.” With a groan, she rubs over her forehead again. “An arrow to the face will do that to you.”

“So what now?” Kyle asks as he wrings his hands. “Should we go look for her?”

“I don’t know,” Lonnie says grimly. “If Adora was around she would’ve stayed with Catra, or met us back at the rebel base.” Suddenly, the pieces slot into place.

“They kidnapped her,” Catra whispers, eyes widening as the image of Adora, wildly spitting fire as the airbender and the archer bind her hands and feet with tight metal chains, appears before her mind’s eye. “It’s the only explanation. Oh, I’ll get them for this.” Anger ignites in her stomach like wildfire and when Catra forces a breath out her nose, the air trembles with heat. “They’ll regret laying their dirty hands on Adora.”

Dust swirls up into a little cloud as Catra turns on her heel and marches back to the house she’d fallen off of. With an angry yell, she punches a fiery fist through the wall. The blue flames are wild and big, fueled by her anger at the rebels and her frustration at herself, for not being able to stop them from taking Adora. The flames are hot and lick their way up to the roof, slowly turning from blue to orange as they start devouring the house. Catra thinks she can hear people yelling on the other side of the house, running to safety as their home starts burning. She pays it no mind. Instead, she turns back to the others. “What are you idiots waiting for? This filthy, resistance abiding town deserves to _burn_.” A beat of silence, and then Lonnie steps forward, Kyle and Rogelio on her trail.

Catra has lost all sense of time. She doesn’t know how long she was unconscious and she doesn’t know how long the four of them have been lighting the houses of this villages on fire in their personal delivery of punishment. All she knows is the ache in her limbs, the sheen of sweat on her brow and the orange light, coming either from the setting sun or the flaming streets. It could be both, amplifying the glow of the other.

A thick lump forms in her throat and Catra jumps into a somersault, creating a wheel of icy fire that hits the house across from her as she slams down her leg. She’s suddenly reminded of Adora, or more specifically, of her absence. Not having her near feels like she’s lost half of herself, like a dragon without his wings or like the Fire Nation without the Fire Lord. Losing Adora means losing a vital part of herself, and it _hurts_. Catra tries to focus on her breathing. Four in, four out—it fuels her inner fire and makes her punches hit even hotter, when they unleash all her frustration in a whirlwind of destruction.

Eventually, even the orange hue fades. Lonnie pulls Catra along in the fast falling darkness, back to the ship. They walk in silence. It lasts until they step onto the metal deck, cold and unyielding below their feet. “We need to send a message back home,” Catra says, in sudden realization. “They need to know what happened here. Maybe they can send reinforcements.”

“For what?” Lonnie scoffs. “Burning the village down a second time?”

“Yes. If that’s what it takes,” Catra speaks through gritted teeth. “At least that will teach the resistance not to mess with Fire Nation operations here. That mission is over. We’re going to focus on bringing Adora home, now.”

“And you’re supposed to be our new leader?” Lonnie asks as she crosses her arms, a disdainful sneer on her face. Catra snarls, stepping in close and pressing her forearm against her chest, hand balled into a fist and inner fire manifesting in a scorching blue blade erupting down it as if she were holding a knife, burning just below Lonnie’s chin.

“You have a problem with that?” The threat isn’t like anything Catra has ever said to the girl before, but it’s real. Though they have never been enemies, they haven’t been the best of friends either, and Catra’s hands are still itching for violence.

It’s Rogelio who intervenes. “Stop it,” he hisses. “Both of you. Catra, go write that letter to Shadow Weaver. We will go out and start scouting the forest. They can’t have gotten far with a hostage as stubborn as Adora.” Catra exhales a deep sigh and lowers her arm, a renewed calm washing over her. Rogelio is right—this is a time for actions, not words.

“Okay,” she says, glancing over to the tall, broad-shouldered boy.

“I’ll go get a messenger hawk ready,” Kyle says and Catra nods at him, before turning around and setting off to the captain’s quarters in the conning tower of the ship, in search of some ink and paper.

The words she sets on paper, clear and concise like she’s been taught to write them at the academy, do nothing to quiet the worries that swirl through Catra’s head when she lies in bed that night. The room she shares with Adora seems too empty, too silent without her in it. In the end, it takes leaving her own covers to lie beneath Adora’s for Catra to finally fall into a fitful sleep.

But the hawk has flown swift as if it knew the importance of the message on the scroll and by the time Catra makes it to the deck the next morning, there’s a bloodred war balloon floating their way from the sea. As the red dot grows into a balloon half the size of the tower on the ship, Catra feels her confidence increase, too. Soon their reinforcements come into sight—standing at the edge of the wicker basket, already waving at her enthusiastically is Scorpia. Behind her, minding the steering mechanism of the balloon, stands someone Catra has only heard about. With her long hair the same bright purple color as the chest of a toucan puffin, the metal mask that covers her face and the metal plating that is secured around her hips, arms and legs, she’s pretty distinct from anyone else in the Fire Nation.

“Hey,” she hears Kyle whisper to Rogelio, as the balloon starts descending. “That’s Entrapta, right? From the Metal Clan?” A grin spreads over Catra’s face. It’s actually her, Fire Lord Hordak’s confidante. A powerful bender and the perfect person to help Scorpia and herself to bring back Adora, and get everything back to normal.


	4. Journey to Ba Sing Se

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the longer i write this fic the more invested i become !! school has started again but i'm pretty sure i'll be able to update consistently. this is not proofread but written with love- hope y'all enjoy this chapter uwu

There’s something strange about walk with Bow through the forest that’s quickly becoming more and more dense. Though Adora does not regret coming with him, it does feel weird to walk alongside the dark-skinned Earth Kingdom archer, especially because she doesn’t know anything about him other than that.

There has been no sign of the airbender and twilight is already setting in when Adora finally finds the courage to open her mouth. She’s never been one to deal with prolonged silences well.

“So, how long have you been an archer?” Bow turns his head and gives her an incredulous expression.

“Why are you asking?” he asks, surprised but not offended. He turns back to the steep, narrow path that will lead them down to the river that meanders through this wooded area. Adora shrugs in reply.

“Just making conversation,” she says. “I mean, we have a long road ahead right?” Actually, Adora has no idea where the rebels will take her after they’ve reunited with Glimmer. And after she apologizes to her, Adora nods to herself. That should be a good first step, not just as a tactic to gain her trust—Shadow Weaver’s countless lessons on gathering intelligence in enemy territory flash before her eyes—but really, it’s the right thing to do. A lot of things she thought were infallibly true have turned out to not to be, so in the end it’s up to Adora herself to learn and move forward.

“Not really, actually,” Bow says, in answer to her question, and Adora snaps out of her thoughts.

“We don’t?” Bow shakes his head with a smile.

“Gaipan is right up ahead. Glimmer will be there.” Adora follows his gaze and true enough, where the river bends, the soft yellow of a sandstone city wall is visible through the trees. As they follow the river, Gaipan and the collection of red tiled roofs that make up the buildings in it come into sight.

“How are you so sure Glimmer is here?” Adora asks. Gaipan seems like the typical Earth Kingdom town; small, more or less situated in a geographically advantageous position, focused on trade. No notable defense mechanisms in place either, the loyal Fire Nation soldier in her notes, as they enter through the main gate and Adora gets a look at the city wall up close. She knows there are probably a thousand towns like this all over the continent, none more special or noteworthy than the other. But Bow just grins confidently.

“Because I know Glimmer,” he answers. “She’s a bit of a hothead, but she never stays angry for long. And afterwards she just needs a moment to herself, to recharge.” They cross the small city square and Bow walks up to the tea house that lies directly opposite. “This is the closest village in the area. And the one of the few where they make a good jasmine tea.” Adora follows Bow as he enters the tea house and makes his way across the open space. It’s littered with small tables and chairs, all across the main floor but also up on the floor above, which protrudes over the entrance and along the walls, with stairs at the far end up the room. It’s when Adora’s eyes are tracing the layout of the tea house that she spots the airbender; she’s sitting right above the door, nursing a cup and looking downcast. Bow spots her too, and smiles. “Just as expected,” he says as he leads the way up the stairs.

“What are _you_ doing here?” Glimmer groans the moment Bow and Adora take a seat at her table.

“Glimmer—I want to apologize,” Adora starts, carefully maintaining eye contact even though her instincts want her to look at her worrying hands. “I’m away from home for the first time, and I was misguided. The Fire Nation—” She hesitates, suddenly extremely aware of her Fire Nation uniform and the piercing looks from the other patrons, sharp like daggers whenever they notice the red cloth. “—I never got both sides of the story. But I know better now.” Glimmer’s brown eyes regard her with a calm and an openness that Adora admires; her people killed the Air Nomad’s father, yet she’s still able to look at her like this. It frankly is intimidating, making her succumb and look down, when she says: “I’m very sorry. I wish there was anything I could do to bring your father back.”

“There isn’t,” Glimmer says softly, with a tinge of bitterness in her voice, but it feels old and worn. “Trust me. I would know.” Adora meets her eyes again, and nods. “If you really wanted to help, though…You could come with us. Assume your rightful place in this world.”

“Oh!” Bow speaks, suddenly. “Good news on that front. Adora already said she’s going to do that. Right?” Two pairs of brown eyes are suddenly on her and Adora coughs awkwardly.

“Uh, yeah,” she says, before heaving a deep sigh. “It feels like the right thing to do.”

And it does, in spite of the pain that Adora still feels for leaving Catra behind. From Gaipan, they travel northwards until they reach the Western and the Eastern Lakes and the Serpent’s Pass, that separates the two like rugged scar. The boat ride across and a long trek to the Earth Kingdom’s capital take up another two days, and throughout the journey, Adora never doubts her decision. If anything, the time she’s granted to look back and think about the inevitability of it all, makes her grow more sure in her decision. This is her duty, as the Avatar. Whatever that means.

On the morning of the third day of traveling with Bow and Glimmer, the blurred structure that had obscured the horizon ever since they had left the lakes behind, becomes visible to the eye. Now that the sun is up, Adora can see it clearly; it’s the great outer wall of the Earth Kingdom’s capital Ba Sing Se, impenetrable and standing as strong as it did five thousand years ago, already towering over them while still being a ways ahead.

It grows immense as they get closer and it’s only when they’re standing right in front of the massive gate that Adora wonders: “Wait—how are we going to get in?” The way the patrons at the tea house in Gaipan had looked at her lies fresh in Adora’s memory. Any firebender, even the Avatar, is extremely disliked in the Earth Kingdom. The nation’s capital probably won’t be any different.

“Oh, leave that to me,” Glimmer answers, as she waves Adora’s concerns away and leads their little group to the guards that man the main gate. She greets them airily and to Adora’s surprise, they bow deeply. As soon as they come up, the two guards open the gate through their earthbending, a slow process thanks to the thickness of the walls. When the gate is opened, the two guards bow again, just as deeply as before, and as the three of them pass them, one guard says: “Welcome back, princess.”

“Princess?” Adora asks as they’re walking through the gate. Her question echoes up the walls, that look like they touch the sky from down here. A strong gust of wind streams through the opening in the wall and it makes her shiver slightly. Glimmer shrugs, but her smug grin discredits the aloof motion.

“Yeah. Didn’t they teach you about me in Fire Nation school?” She turns around to face Adora while she walks. The next words come as soon as they exit the shade of the gate, bathing Glimmer in sunshine as she speaks. “I’m the daughter of Earth King Micah. The princess of the Earth Kingdom.” Adora’s jaw all but drops onto the dry dirt of the street. With a burst of chiming laughter and a flourish of her Air Nomad robes, Glimmer turns back to where the city now stretches impossibly far in front of them. “Come on,” she says, as she starts walking. “I’ll show you around.”

***

Entrapta goes right down to business. It would be admirable if it wasn’t also a little annoying; despite only just waking up, Catra feels exhausted and her limbs are heavy after the overexertion of her bending the day before. A timid glance towards the outskirts of the little harbor town they’re docked in shows the fire of last night is still smoldering and as the corner of her mouth quirks upwards, Catra turns back to the new arrivals.

Having only stepped foot onto the ship a minute ago, Entrapta is rummaging through her bag, muttering something about a shirshu merchant and the onset of the new moon as Scorpia and the rest of Catra’s team watch, curiously.

“Can I assume you have a plan, already?” Catra asks her, the brightest mind in the Fire Nation, if not the world. A wide grin spreads across Entrapta’s face after she lifts up the metal mask that obscures her face and she nods.

“According to my calculations, our chances at tracking the rebels and finding Adora are biggest when we make use of a shirshu: a large, star-nosed mole-like mammal that has no eyes and relies on its incredibly specialized sense of smell, that can find a target over hundreds of miles away, has paralyzing saliva that it—”

“I know what a shirshu is,” Catra interrupts. “That’s a good idea, actually. If we could find one—or did you forget a domesticated shirshu is one of the rarest animals in the world?” Entrapta’s right hand, that hasn’t stopped going through the bag that is slung over her shoulder, suddenly stops and holds up a scrap of paper.

“Not to worry,” Entrapta grins, “I know a guy.”

“If this whole shirshu thing doesn’t work out, I can always apply my own tracking skills,” Scorpia says as she eyes the piece of paper critically. “They might not be as good as a shirshu’s, but they’re reliable.”

“Thank you, both,” Catra says, putting a hand on Entrapta’s shoulder while shooting Scorpia a grin. “I didn’t know what to do before, but…we have a plan now.” With a sigh, she lets the nerves flow from her shoulders, and looks to the forest where Adora unquestionably disappeared in. “We’ll get her back.”

Not to lose any more daylight, they set out on their mission almost immediately. Catra considers bringing a couple of komodo rhinos, but in enemy territory a subtle approach is arguably the best way to go. They waste some time finding Entrapta’s contact, who they eventually find in an abandoned hideout, high up in the trees of the forest they just spent a couple of hours scouring. Catra’s sour mood, caused by the delay, gets a little better when they’ve paid the man what he’s owed and ride away on the new addition to their little team; a female shirshu named June. It’s a name too beautiful for a creature that’s aggressive, stubborn, and moves with none of the delicacy that the name implies.

As Scorpia rides it back in the direction they came from, Catra drags a hunk of meat from her bag, packed in paper. She discards the paper on the forest floor she’s walking on and hurls the meat to June, who catches it expertly and, ignoring Scorpia’s complaints, lies down to eat it. In spite of their extraordinary skills, these creatures are surprisingly easy to use, Catra thinks as she pulls an old sleeping shirt from her bag and holds it in front of June’s nose. It belongs to Adora, left on her bed in their shared room. Catra is suddenly hit with the severe urge to follow the shirshu’s example and take in the scent, which has been so familiar to her as if it’s her own, even if it would only serve as a bitter reminder of what she’s lost. The tears that are threatening to form in her eyes immediately following this thought must be from the surprise—though she represses the urge almost as soon as she gets it. Catra shakes her head and tries to think about something, anything else, and angrily pushes the shirt back in the bag. June is already moving in circles, trying to find the scent between the trees, climbing onto her back behind Scorpia and Entrapta serves as a nice distraction. Soon enough, June shoots off into a random direction, and any trace of sadness that Catra feels is replaced by a powerful, fiery dedication.

June’s nose leads them to a tiny Earth Kingdom village at a river, a mere speck on the map. The people in this tiny town called Gaipan all avert their eyes as they come through, three imposing looking figures in blood red Fire Nation uniforms, riding an animal the size of a building. Catra can see why they’d be scared of June, with her nails the size of a human head and her sharp tongue that flicks out from time to time, laced with a paralyzing saliva. It might have been bad if their plan was to question any of the people here, but Catra soon realizes they don’t need to—June storms out of Gaipan as fast as she had entered it, and resumes the chase.

They ride all day, until they arrive at the big lakes that characterize the center of the Earth Kingdom. June leads them to a place with a customs office and a dock with two ferries, where the scent dies. The shirshu starts pacing back and forth along the waterline, clearly in conflict.

“What do you think it means?” Entrapta mutters through her metal mask. The sun is setting over the Western Lake, painting the blue water shades of pink, orange and red. Catra barely notices—she sighs and lets her head sink into her hands.

“She must be afraid of the water,” she mumbles. “We should’ve gotten an eel hound.”

“Eel hounds couldn’t have brought us where we are, now,” Scorpia says as she leans down and pets June’s coarse brown fur. “Isn’t that right, girl?” June makes a guttural sound and her tongue flits out in Scorpia’s general direction. The weapons specialist can duck just in time. “Alright, alright, easy girl. Come on.” She pulls on the reins and directs her away from the ships, and to the thin land bridge known as the feared Serpent’s Pass. “What do you think?” Scorpia asks, looking at Catra from over her shoulder. Catra doesn’t take long to decide. This is the only way across without alerting any Earth Kingdom officials of their presence so deep in the nation’s interior and going all the way around the lakes would be a surefire way to lose the scent and, in turn, Adora. She nods at Scorpia.

“Let’s do it.”

June is slower on the uneven terrain, the slopes upwards, downwards, and up again. It’s a long and tedious trek, made even worse by the onset of the night, which after the sunset has plunged the world into darkness. The rocky ground of the Pass looks the same as the swirly depths of the lakes below in the dark and, more than once, Catra thanks the spirits that June’s sight seems to be on par with her sense of smell.

It’s only when the sky transforms from inky black to a deep blue once again, that they’ve reached the other side. The sun is climbing the sky as they leave the Serpent’s Pass behind them and find a place to rest in the shadow of a small tree, on the side of the road. Scorpia passes the water around and Entrapta earthbends a small basin in the ground for June to drink from. Catra watches her do so with a start; though she knows Entrapta is famous in the Fire Nation for her metalbending, a part of her had forgotten that at the base of that specialization lies earthbending. Their shirshu drinks greedily, a testament to how tired the long journey and the constant use of her senses have made her. She will have to endure, Catra thinks as she stares ahead. Somewhere down that road lies Ba Sing Se, no doubt the final destination of the rebels. They should hurry up if they mean to intercept them before they reach the capital.

Scorpia seems to have the same thought. “We should go soon,” the tall woman says as she regards the desert-like plain that stretches out in front of them. There is a blur on the horizon that looks like a low mountain range, but what Catra suspects might actually be the outer wall of Ba Sing Se.

“What if we don’t reach them in time?” Entrapta asks, her gaze distant. “What do you know about these particular rebels?”

“Why do you ask?” Catra replies. Her lost fight with them is not exactly something she’s willing to get into right now. Entrapta only shrugs.

“Sharing information benefits us all,” is her answer. “I might be able to fill gaps in your knowledge, and you in mine.”

“Alright,” Catra says, while crossing her arms. “I was beat by a pink-haired airbender and an Earth Kingdom boy with a bow. Is that what you want to hear?” Apparently it is, because Entrapta lifts her metal mask to meet her eyes. There’s a glint of something giddy in them.

“That doesn’t sound like just any Air Nomad,” she says, as she sits back against the tree. “That sounds like the Earth Kingdom’s princess Glimmer and her little nonbender friend Bow.” Entrapta flips her metal mask back down and starts humming a song under her breath, like they’ve got nowhere to be.

And as Scorpia spits out her water, shouting: “What?” Catra understands. With this new information, the urgency at trying to intercept the rebels and Adora before they reach the capital disappears. It’s no longer this or nothing—since no one could ever hope to find three people who don’t want to be found in a city of millions—now, they can go straight to the Earth King’s palace and demand the princess give Adora back. And if not, well. Catra takes another sip of water, swallowing slowly. Then they will have her, and the wrath of a thousand suns to deal with.


	5. Entering the Palace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> like the previous chapter, i spent an insane amount of words on parts of the outline that shouldn't even have taken up this much space in the story. still i think the pacing is alright, and all of this really just means shit is FINALLY going to hit the fan next chapter !! i'm excited to hear ur thoughts and i hope u enjoy reading, see ya at the next one!

Having pretty much grown up at the Royal Fire Nation Academy, Adora is no stranger to big cities. She knows the Fire Nation capital like the back of her hand; she’s sure she and Catra have discovered every narrow passageway and every street between the edge of the caldera and the palace, situated right in the middle of the city.

It’s nothing compared to the sheer size of Ba Sing Se. Apparently, the large patch of land between the gigantic outer and inner walls is part of the city, too—though not the main part, Glimmer explains. These fields supply the city, it’s not until they’re seated in one of the monorails cars and pass through the inner wall that Adora sees the real size of the Earth Kingdom Capital; the Lower Ring spreads as far as the eye can see, a dark and pale brown tangle of houses and streets, sometimes indistinguishable from each other. There must be as much, if not more people in this part of the city alone than in the entire Royal Caldera City, Adora thinks as she looks at the scene below the monorail. Smoke rises from the thousands of shabby houses, hanging as a low mist over this part of the city and obscuring the view beyond it.

“This is where the poorest people live,” Glimmer explains, as she looks down at the dirty, unpaved streets. “And the newcomers, usually refugees or people looking to try their luck in the big city.”

“Refugees?” Adora asks, surprised, before she remembers with a start all of the Fire Nation’s wrongdoings. “Oh. Uh, right.” Bow grimaces empathically. Some people in the monorail car glance her way, even the ones with pale skin and golden eyes that betray a Fire Nation heritage, but Adora doesn’t meet their gazes, instead turning back to the window.

“Yeah, well. Anyway, this is the busiest part of the city,” Bow says. “The most criminal, too. We don’t come here often.”

Out of the smoke and the smell of the Lower Ring, the monorail takes them through the Middle and Upper Rings with considerable speed, the houses and parks becoming bigger and more extravagant the further they move towards the center of the city.

“Back in the day, to travel all this way would’ve taken up at least three days,” Bow says as they pass through another massive earth wall. The darkness of the tunnel obscures his face for a second and then they’re at the final stop of the line. Most other people have already cleared out one by one, exiting in the Ring corresponding to their social status. The blatant segregation feels a little weird to Adora, but apparently that is the way things are done, here.

They exit the monorail car and now, Adora sees why they’re the only ones to do so; they’re at the Earth Kingdom Royal Palace. The main buildings that make up the palace are still a ways ahead of the monorail station, the space in between taken up by gardens and one big square.

“Woah,” Adora breathes, as a guard starts walking them towards the palace. “This is where you live?”

“Yeah, most of the time,” Glimmer says, a wide grin plastered on her face.

The inside of the palace is even more beautiful than the outside, with its high ceilings and jade walls, decorated with intricate paintings, and marble columns laid in with rubies and emeralds and sapphires. Everything seems to have a golden edge, a true testament to the Earth Kingdom’s Royal Family’s wealth. And this is just what Adora sees on her way to the throne room—so blinded by the shimmering beauty surrounding her that she barely even notices the high doors being opened until she’s standing in the middle of an empty throne with Glimmer and Bow.

The throne room is eerily similar to that of Fire Lord Hordak, the only real difference being the absence of the ever-burning flames in the shroud of darkness. Adora is about to ask who they’re waiting for when a procession of twenty guards, like the one that escorted them to the palace, enter. At the very end of the procession is a woman, carried into the room by means of palanquin. She’s taller than anyone Adora has ever seen, something that’s apparent even though she’s sitting down, and she has the same distinctive pink hair that Glimmer has, though her skin is a few shades paler than that of the airbender. Even more noticeable than this, though, are her long, beige, Air Nomad robes and the tattooed arrow on her forehead.

The woman’s soft, grey eyes glide over the three of them until they land on Adora, and harden.

“Glimmer,” she says, when she’s taken up her place on the throne, “I see you’ve brought back a souvenir from your mission? Even though the primary report I’ve received indicate that the mission altogether was…” The corners of her mouth turn downward and despite her impeccable posture the woman slumps, slightly. “…Disappointing.” Adora’s eyes glide from the woman on the throne to Glimmer, who just sighs and rolls her eyes.

“I _know_, okay?” she responds. “And it’s too bad, but I’d say we won this one.” The woman, Glimmer’s mother, leans her chin on her hand with the air of someone who’s had this conversation before.

“Pray tell, Glimmer, how you would call this a victory?” Adora is a little shaken up at suddenly being included into the conversation, because Glimmer grabs a hold of her arm and marches up to the throne.

“I got us the _Avatar_.” The woman’s grey eyes fall on her and Adora feels herself shrink under the intense scrutiny. She stays silent for a long time, then stands up from the throne and walks down the steps until she’s standing in front of Adora. The Queen absolutely towers over her and Adora straightens her posture, her natural reflex in the face of authority.

“I’m Earth Queen Angella,” the woman says as she sizes her up. She waits, Adora realizes a little late, for her response.

“My name is Adora, from the Fire Nation,” she answers, like a soldier.

“I figured that. We’re going to have to arrange to get you some new clothes,” the Queen replies, walking over to Glimmer. “I can’t have the Avatar show up to an Alliance meeting looking like the highest general in the Fire Nation Army. Will you take care of that for me, dear?”

Glimmer rolls her eyes, but replies: “Sure, mom.” Then the Queen does something that has Adora freeze up for no other reason than the inherent strangeness of seeing someone in her position of power act that way: she bows down slightly and hugs Glimmer closely. She’s still watching with awe as she proceeds to pet Bow on his head and gives Adora a curt nod, before taking off again in the palanquin.

When she’s gone, Adora slumps. “That was intense,” she says.

“Don’t worry,” Glimmer mutters as she takes her by the arm and drags her out of the throne room, Bow following in tow. “You’ll get used to her.”

“So what exactly am I getting ready for, now?” Adora asks as she inspects the outfit prepared for her by Bow and Glimmer. It consists of simple grey pants that turn tight around her calves and a green tunic embroidered with golden thread, which seems positively Earth Kingdom apart from the airiness of the item, which billows around her as she turns to see how it fits—Adora is glad she decided to keep on her burgundy undershirt, which together with the golden headpiece secured around her topknot are the only reminders of where she came from. The pair of boots she gets are big and lumpy, but lined with fur on the inside and incredibly comfortable. Altogether, she looks like an accumulation of the dress of all respective nations, in some way or another. A perfect outfit for the person meant to represent them all, Adora wonders as she glances at her reflection in the smooth walls of the palace, as they walk back towards the throne room.

The doors are opened by two guards and Adora is slightly taken aback by the changes the room has undergone; in the space of an afternoon, the big, empty room has been filled with long, rectangular tables, arranged in a square. All the places are filled by who Adora assumes are important people from all corners of the world and their delegations, and as Bow and Glimmer take their places at the Queen’s side, Adora realizes there’s one place left, yet to be filled.

It’s a solitary chair at the head of this table, directly opposite the Queen. A chair that will be filled for the first time in years—the place designated for the Avatar.

***

“So if she’s the Earth Kingdom princess, how come she isn’t an earthbender?” Scorpia asks. They’ve been walking towards Ba Sing Se for the largest part of the day, having given up on the chase for now. June is too tired to carry them any further, anyway—made apparent by how she threw Scorpia off her back when she’d tried to mount her again after their break.

“Her father was Earth King Micah,” Entrapta patiently explains, her voice sounding a little muffled behind the mask. “However, her mother is the Queen Regent Angella, from the Eastern Air Temple originally. A cruel joke from the spirits to play on a man who married for love, to have his only daughter break the line of strong earthbenders the Royal Family has always known, instead giving her the power over the element most opposite to it.”

“And the people,” Catra asks, speaking up for the first time since they started moving again, “they just…agree with it?” It seems almost impossible to her—Catra tries to imagine a world in which either she or Adora, the two people next in line to take the throne, would be waterbenders. The notion is absurd. In the Fire Nation, she has no doubt this would lead to some sort of resistance from the people or the Fire Sages. Entrapta only shrugs.

“There have been nonbender Earth Kings before,” she says. “Whether they could bend has never put their authority in question. I suppose even something like this, what could be considered a tainting of the Royal House, is acceptable in the eyes of the people. The Earth King is nothing short of being regarded as a deity.” She pauses, her hands playing with the tips of her long, lilac braids. “There’s only ever been one person to really question the supposed supremacy of the King.”

“And who was that?” Scorpia asks, as she tugs June along. The metal mask that covers her face hides any expression, but the way she answers convinces Catra that Entrapta is grinning behind it.

“Me, of course.”

As Entrapta recounts the story of her past as a high ranking official in the Metal Clan and her subsequent abandonment of that position to rebel against the Earth King and stage a coup, Catra tunes out. The whispered story of how a metalbender became the court inventor and close confidante of the Fire Lord has echoed through the halls of the palace and the academy for as long as she can remember, and she could tell it herself in her sleep. It’s a story of resistance and freedom from oppression, an earthbender who turned against her own people to join the just cause of a benevolent ruler like Fire Lord Hordak.

It’s a tale to tell children, Catra thinks. She prefers to focus on the wall that, despite still being relatively far away, is already looming over them.

“Entrapta,” she says, effectively interrupting Entrapta’s story. “How do you suppose we even get into the city? They’re not going to let us in looking like this—” Catra pulls on the fabric of her uniform, that after the course of the past few days has become dirty with crumbs of earth and the smell of smoke and sweat. “—or even if they did, we would be arrested by the first guard to spot us. You know the city, you must have a plan.”

“Of course I have!” Entrapta replies enthusiastically, raising her index finger. “This wall was built by earthbenders to keep out foreign invaders. A massive structure made out of earth, well...” They’re still a ways away from the base of the wall, but Entrapta assumes a basic earthbending stance, lowering her center of gravity as her feet spread wide. “It’s basically a door every earthbender has the key to. But since we need to stay out of view from the guards…” With the littlest effort, she opens up the ground and creates a makeshift tunnel, big enough for two people walk side by side and high enough for June not to bump her head against the ceiling.

The shirshu seems the most excited out of the four of them to go underground; with an excited roar, she burrows into the tunnel created by Entrapta, clawing at the earth with her long, black nails.

“Someone’s excited,” Entrapta speaks as she bends the end of the tunnel further away. June, with all the energy of a tigerdillo cub, chases after the disappearing earth happily. Catra watches from the surface and with a sigh, jumps into the tunnel. The barest motion of her wrist creates a blue flame, that flickers calmly as she follows Scorpia and Entrapta into the inky black of the tunnel.

They resurface in a grain field, just on the other side of the wall. Scorpia has some trouble with keeping June under control once they’re back under the sun—they’re out of both fresh and dried meat and Catra can sense the animal slipping closer into complete disobedience. Then there is the question of their clothes. Catra’s watchful gaze glides over the fields until she notices a farm. Her strides long with determination, Catra marches towards it.

In the end, it’s not much a struggle to convince the farmer and his wife to give them a change of clothes and to keep June until their return, all for the right price, negotiated in depth by the farmer. It’s pathetic, Catra thinks, how people from the Earth Kingdom are willing to do the most menial things if offered money for it. Suddenly, she is overtaken by a disgust for this nation, its capital and everybody in it; the way they seem to abandon honor whenever it suits them, whether it’s about protecting the legitimacy of their airbender princess or making a few gold coins off an enemy infiltrator.

It’s a good thing they started their chase as rapidly as they did; Catra is not going to let Adora be kept in this dump of a city for a second longer than she has to.

The monorail ride to the Upper Ring happens without any difficulties, with thanks to the crumpled up document Entrapta fishes out of her bag to show to the guard to allow them access to the richest area of the city. Ba Sing Se seems to be like a second home to her, with how she leads the way through the wide street and elaborate city parks to a warehouse. The sun has started its descent towards the horizon when they reach it and Entrapta stops, looking around a corner to the entrance and indicating they all stay silent.

There are people in the dark navy costumes of servants, walking in and out of the warehouse and carrying all sorts of exotic foods and animals, stacking the crates and cages up on big carts, pulled by two ostrich horses each.

“I figured there would be a feast after the return of the princess. Traditions really are too predictable,” Entrapta whispers. “This is our way into the palace.” The ease with which she’s leading this mission would be frightening if Catra hadn’t known about how close Entrapta came to a successful coup the last time she was here. Entrapta, without question one of the brightest minds in the world, knows this city and all its weakness as intimately as she knows herself.

They wait until the carts have left to break into the warehouse with some careful metalbending of the lock, courtesy of Entrapta, and exchanging their worn Earth Kingdom clothes for the blue servant’s uniforms. Then it’s a stealthy trip through the shadows, following up the path the carts left on until they’re at the palace, hiding behind one of the many badgermole statues that line the walls of the palace. Catra pulls on the collar of her uniform as she looks around it; they have a perfect vantage point to observe the official entrance of the palace, while still being close enough to the servant’s entrance to make a run for it, if they need to.

“Do you recognize anyone?” Scorpia asks as they look at the procession of Earth Kingdom nobility and delegations from the Water Tribes and the Air Temples. Catra’s mouth twists into something ugly when she realizes that once again, the Fire Nation is being excluded by the other nations.

“Entering now are Netossa, leader of the Si Wong clan that call the desert their home, with Spinnerella from the Southern Air Temple,” Entrapta says as Catra’s eyes find the two women, both wearing airy robes in shades of beige. Their hands are interlocked in a loose familiarity and for a reason she can’t fathom, Catra’s eyes are drawn to it. “The woman behind them is Mermista, Chief of the Southern Water Tribe, escorted by General Sea Hawk. He’s one of the highest ranking nonbender in the Earth Kingdom’s army.”

It takes some time fot these people and their respective delegations to enter the palace and by the time they all have, the space in front of the official entrance has been filled again by the next arrivals. “That girl in the front may not look it, but she’s the Chief of the Northern Water Tribe,” Entrapta explains. “The woman behind her is the late King’s sister, General Castaspella.”

“How about that blonde girl in the back?” Scorpia asks. “She doesn’t really look like she’s supposed to be there.” Catra has to agree; compared to the expensive-looking clothes of the other people attending the feast tonight, this girl looks flat out poor.

“My best guess is that she’s Perfuma, Chief of the Foggy Swamp Tribe,” Entrapta says. They stay in place, watching the stream of important people filter into the palace until the square out front is almost empty.

“Time to make our move,” Catra sighs, as she retreats back into the shadows. Scorpia and Entrapta follow, wordlessly.

The servant’s uniforms ensure no one looks at them twice as they enter the palace through the servant’s entrance and make their way through the high halls, filled to the brim with elaborate decorations that Catra pays no mind to.

“Which way are the prisons?” Catra whispers harshly as they turn another corner. “Are we getting close?”

“We aren’t going to the prisons,” Entrapta answers calmly. “They’re too far, anyway—hidden away under layers of earth below the palace.” In the face of blatant disregard for her leadership, Catra feels her body temperature rise. She balls her fists tightly, but keeps on following.

“_Why_?” she hisses, silently. It won’t do to be found out now, thanks to something as stupid as loss of composure. They arrive at a small door, another servant’s passage by the looks of it. Entrapta opens the door and steps inside the room, which stuns Catra into silence as she realizes where they are.

In front of them stretches the throne room, with long tables arranged in a square, holding all the important people and delegations they just saw enter the palace. Servants are waking to and from the main table with all kinds of specialties, but apart from the chiming of cutlery against china and the servants soft footsteps, it’s quiet. Instead of making conversation with one another, all the people gathered here tonight are focused on the one person in the center, at the head of the table. Catra looks closer, and gets her second shock of the evening, that sends a chill up her spine and makes her whole posture go rigid.

There, in the center of attention and dressed in the most hideous clothing Catra has ever seen, is Adora.


	6. The Sword of Protection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> after taking a week or two off from writing im BACK !!!! hope y'all enjoy this chapter!

There’s a room full of faces of all colors and nationalities—the Fire Nation isn’t represented, a fact that sticks out to Adora like a sore thumb—all looking at her expectantly. Adora pulls at the collar of her new tunic awkwardly, glancing over at Glimmer and Bow on the far end of the table with a pleading look. They just give her encouraging smiles and thumbs up, which really doesn’t help her understand exactly what is expected of her, so Adora just scrapes her throat and stands up a little straighter.

“Uh, hello,” she says, as her eyes glide over the room. The expressions that are looking back at her range from expecting and excited to entirely unimpressed. “You don’t know me, but uh, my name is Adora…” Adora falls silent and a woman with the dark skin and heavy blue clothes of the Water Tribes raises an eyebrow at her from a couple of seats down the side.

“And? I would like to know why a stranger is attending our meeting,” she demands, that last part directed at the Queen. Angella smiles a little wistfully as she stands up, too, to address everyone at the table.

“Rather than a stranger, I invited Adora here tonight as the guest of honor, of sorts.” The mention of honor makes Adora swallow uneasily—she may be the Avatar, but the way she left behind her past life without so much as a goodbye, though it was the only way, was anything but honorable. “Please, withhold your judgement for now,” Angella continues as she sharply eyes a small girl in Water Tribe dress, who’s face spells thunder and lightning. “Having reservations about her is nothing out of the ordinary, especially considering our situation, but I felt Adora has a right to attend.”

“What sort of right is that?” the girl asks, angrily. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed that rotten piece of metal in her hair—it’s not exactly ambiguous.” Adora, who has been listening patiently ever since being silenced, feels her cheeks heat up with a swift embarrassment. The headpiece, a golden flame that proudly represents the Royal Family, suddenly feels heavier than it ever has back home, despite the fact that Adora’s been wearing it ever since she was a small child.

Queen Angella looks about opposite the way Adora feels; like this afternoon in the throne room, she’s calmness itself. “Yes, she’s from the Fire Nation, yes,” she says, and Adora gulps. “She’s also the Avatar.”

The quiet is abruptly broken by all the important people around the table instantly turning to their associates, whispering things Adora can’t distinguish between the many voices, all speaking at the same time. She glances at the people she actually knows—Bow, Glimmer and Angella don’t look too surprised by the general reaction. Anyone would be shocked, Adora supposes. Or maybe that’s just the way meetings go here.

Eventually, a woman wrapped in tight, beige-colored robes that conceal most of her appearance apart from her face, speaks up. “How can we be sure it is really her?” The rest of the room falls silent.

It’s Glimmer who stands up and answers. “Because she redirected my airbending. Which shocked her as much as it did us—” She directs a meaningful grin at Adora. “—but it became instantly clear that she had to be the one.” In the Fire Nation, Glimmer would’ve been punished for speaking over others, seeing her position as princess rather than the leader of a nation, as well as her age. But here, under the watchful gaze of the Queen, she’s considered an equal; conversation continues with her testimony as a welcome addition rather than an interruption.

“I’m sure all of us will consider the princess’ testimony as trustworthy,” a man in the uniform of an Earth Kingdom general says, as he twirls his mustache, “I’m also fairly certain that I speak for most of us gathered here today when I say I would appreciate it if the girl can give us a demonstration, of her ability to manipulate at least two of the elements. It has been sixteen years since Mara’s death, after all. As you said, your Highness, especially our situation, one can never be too sure.” Adora’s eyes glide over the assembly again and she sees that the man is probably right. Most of them are still glancing at her with curious eyes, like the smallest movement on her part could prove or disprove her validity as the Avatar.

“Uh—I can’t, I’ve never been trained in airbending,” Adora says. “I don’t think I could do it on command. I’m sorry.” She stares at the brown boots on her feet.

“Adora,” Angella says, as she leaves her place and walks alongside the long table until she’s standing next to her. “That is nothing but expected. Don’t worry about it.” She places a hand on Adora’s shoulder as she asks: “What exactly is known about the Avatar in the Fire Nation?”

This is the easiest thing she’s been asked all day. “Nothing,” Adora shrugs. “Glimmer mentioned the bending thing, and something about being a bridge? But that’s all I know about the Avatar…and being one.” Someone scoffs, but Adora doesn’t see who, because the Queen is smiling kindly and guiding her back to her chair.

“Sit,” she says, “and listen. The Fire Nation has kept the existence of the Avatar a secret from it’s children, but now you can learn.

“Like the cycle of the four seasons, the cycle of the Avatar is ordered. You are from the Fire Nation, but the Avatar before you was from the Earth Kingdom. Her name was Mara.” Angella’s light grey eyes grow wistful and far away and as Adora glances around the room, she sees similar expressions amongst some other people who must have known her. “The first time I met her was when she came to stay at the Eastern Air Temple, to train her airbending. We were both 16 at the time. Mara had already mastered her earth and firebending, but air was still something of a challenge to her. Both as a master and as a friend, I took it upon myself to tutor her.

“One afternoon, after meditating in a meadow on one of the mountains not too far from the temple, we encountered a spirit. The guardian spirit of the mountain top, who had been dwelling on the peak and in the stone below the earth for a thousand years, had been disturbed by a group of people who had come to the mountain in search of silver and other precious minerals, below its surface. The group consisted of mainly earthbenders, who had attacked the spirit and had been attacked in turn. As you can understand, this proved a perfect challenge for Mara, as inexperienced as she still was as the Avatar.” As everyone else in the room, Adora is completely invested in the story. The thought of spirits as real entities instead of the antagonists of children’s stories is a thrilling one, as strange as it seems.

“Conflict was always something Mara struggled with,” Angella continues, smiling slightly at the memory. “She hated seeing anyone fight, and she hated it even more now that it was up to her to resolve the dispute. After connecting with the spirit and hearing its story and after confronting the earthbenders, Mara lifted her sword and, with the use of the Avatar State, brought it down to rupture the earth. It is said that even the people of Ba Sing Se could feel the earth tremble that day, when she split the lowest part of the mountain off from the rest of it, granting it to the earthbenders while maintaining the peak for the spirit, simultaneously destroying any opportunity for anyone other than a skilled airbender to climb to those heights again.” The Queen pauses, before looking at Adora. “This is what it means to be the bridge between the two worlds of both spirits and humans. These are the lengths you will have to go to in order to maintain balance between humans, as well.”

Adora is stunned into silence by the story. Splitting a mountain in two…could one person really wield that much power? She looks at her own hands, folded in her lap. Could she wield that much power? Adora knows she’s powerful—the countless sparring matches won at the academy speak for themselves. Still, the prospect of actually being able to produce some sort of superhuman act of bending seems surreal. Angella motions at one of the guards, who steps out of the room and, after a minute, returns with what Adora immediately recognizes as a broadsword, though it looks like none she had ever fought with in Scorpia’s weapons training. The hilt is a gleaming gold, with a beautiful light green jade stone embedded in it. For reasons Adora can’t explain, seeing it feels familiar, like recognizing a place you visited once, as a child.

“This was her sword,” Angella says, “the Sword of Protection. The scabbard was lost in the last battle she ever fought.” With steady hands, she takes it from the hands of the guard, and gives it to Adora. Its weight somehow is exactly how Adora imagined it to be and she stands up from her seat, angling it in a few different positions as she gets used to the feel of the sword.

“It’s beautiful,” Adora says, enamored by how the jewel catches the light.

“Do you feel anything?” The Queen asks. “There are certain objects in this world that still carry the energy of the people that used them—especially those that belonged to your former lives.” As Adora steps back from the table and makes a few swings with the weapon, she suddenly finds herself in a fighting position that feels familiar and foreign to her at the same time. Her feet are spread far and she’s crouched low, the way she’s seen earthbenders stand.

“This is strange,” Adora says. “It feels like I’ve used this before.” Another snort comes from her audience and this time Adora catches the person uttering it. It’s the little, pale Water Tribe girl.

“Excuse me if I don’t believe you just yet,” she says, “because any fake would know to admit to feel a connection to Mara’s sword.” Adora frowns, and her grip on the hilt tightens. This feeling is anything but artificial and she could prove it, too; with the focus she reserves for training and fights, Adora closes her eyes and focuses on her breathing, the basis of her bending. She lifts the sword again and follows her intuition blindly as it leads her into foreign forms.

Her eyes stay closed as she feels her chi flowing through her body, similar to how it does when she’s going through her firebending forms but also feeling freer, somehow. The sword cuts through the air like a knife through butter and Adora feels increasingly confident in the movements. She’s nearing the end of the series and with a smile, Adora opens her eyes, as she completes the motions: ending with her bringing the sword down in one, smooth movement.

What happens next surprises her probably more than anyone else in the room. The Sword of Protection slices through the air as it’s brought down with a powerful swing, simultaneously creating a powerful surge of air that rushes through the throne room, leaving a trail of rustling clothes and shuddering cutlery in its wake. Adora freezes, instantly looking at the sword in her hands, then back at the people in the room. Their shocked expressions confirm her realization. She just airbended.

***

From their position hidden behind a pillar, in a dark corner at the far end of the throne room, Catra can clearly make out Adora and the Earth Queen, standing at the head of the long table. The Queen is engaged in a long monologue, but this far from the assembly of people she can’t make any of the words out.

Catra tries to keep a clear visual of the guards, the delegations, the Queen, the airbender and the archer, but her eyes keep gliding back to Adora on their own accord. She frowns at the betrayal and bites at the inside of her cheek in an attempt to keep her focus.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Scorpia whispers, barely audible.

“Everyone who is someone in this world is here,” Entrapta answers. “My best guess is that this isn’t a feast, but a war meeting.”

“I’ve got a question for you,” Catra interrupts, ignoring the statement and the implications it carries. “How did you know Adora would be here, instead of in prison?”

Before Entrapta can answer that, Catra’s eyes are pulled back to the scene before them. The Earth Queen is handing over some sort of weapon to Adora, what looks to be a—

“Ooh, a traditional Earth Kingdom style broadsword,” Scorpia whispers. “A real pretty one, too. I wonder why she’s giving it to Adora?” The question is one Catra is asking herself too, right alongside the question of why Adora is seemingly the most important guest here, and why she isn’t in chains. Both her and Adora are the most important people in the Fire Nation after the Fire Lord, Catra thinks to herself. Adora is in line for the throne. So why aren’t they treating her like it?

Adora makes some movements with the sword, looking more natural than Catra has ever seen her in weapons training. She hears Scorpia gasp silently at the effortlessness with which she flows from one position to the next, no trace of hesitation in her movements even though Catra is sure this is the first time she makes them. No one knows what Adora is capable of better than her. No one knows Adora better than her.

Apparently she never really knew Adora at all, because as she brings the broadsword down, a powerful blast of air fills the throne room. The servant robes flutter around her limbs and Catra’s stomach turns. All of a sudden, she remembers the fight on the roof. Both of them had been on the end of an airbending attack, but Adora had been unfazed by it, whereas she was all but blown off. The horror on Adora’s face remains as fresh in her memory as the joy when she first beat Scorpia in a sparring session. The attack hadn’t missed her, Catra realizes now. Adora had redirected it.

She can _airbend_.

Something snaps within Catra as the delegations erupt in applause and excited chatter, making her breaths more and more shallow, boiling her blood and tightening her muscles. Her hands are clenched in fists and Catra can feel her body temperature rise. Every thought of rescuing Adora has gone from her mind. It’s just red hot anger now, anger at this betrayal, because that’s what it is; over a decade of going to school together, fighting together, laughing together, sleeping together… How could Adora have kept this from her? How can she even do this at all? Catra is furious not just at Adora but at the impossibility of it all—how in the world is she able to bend not just one but _two_ elements?

Their mission is reduced to nothing but a faint memory as the anger takes over Catra’s body like a virus, spreading through her veins until she’s running towards the table, towards Adora. Scorpia and Entrapta grab at her clothes, a futile effort to hold her back because Catra is the fastest person in the Fire Nation—by the time anyone even notices her, she’s already flying through the air towards Adora, bringing her balled fists down in an assault of blue flames with a scream.

Adora can counter at the last minute, protecting herself with her own fire as her eyes go wide and she gasps. “Catra?” she breathes as she falls to the ground, surprised. “What are you doing here? What—”

“That’s my line,” Catra spits through gritted teeth. “What was that just now?!” She lunges at where Adora lays, but Adora is quick, too and her fist cracks the ornamental tiles. “What did I just see you do?!” Another punch following another, creating nothing but dust and a cracked floor as Adora expertly avoids them. Adora moves away from Catra as soon as she’s put some space between them, and picks up the broadsword she’d dropped upon Catra’s first attack.

“Please stop this, Catra,” she pleads. “You have to listen to me. Shadow Weaver lied to us.” Catra frowns as she stalks towards Adora, who maintains the space between them by walking backwards.

“Don’t bring Shadow Weaver into this,” Catra yells. “_You_ betrayed us. Not her.” She emphasizes her words with another punch, punch, kick of ferocious blue fire. Adora parries using the sword—she really is a natural with that thing, Catra thinks, the thought making her even more mad.

“You’ve got it all wrong,” Adora says. Her big, blue eyes are begging Catra to stop, but Catra’s anger is a fire that eats away at everything that could’ve made Adora redeemable. Catra’s heart is in pieces and it’s Adora who broke it. “Please listen to me,” she says as her back hits on of the pillars that hold up the ceiling of the throne room. “I’m the Avatar. I just found out—it was wrong of me to leave you like that, but I couldn’t take the risk—” Catra’s fist, coated in blue, bursts through the pillar where Adora’s head had just been.

“Shut up,” she hisses as she fires another fireball at Adora. “You should have come back to me. You’re a _traitor_.” Catra all but spits out the word, which leaves a bad aftertaste in her mouth. Adora’s making nonsense excuses and it’s not doing anything to make her less mad. What even is an ‘Avatar’, anyways?

“Catra, please listen to me,” Adora says. She’s still pleading and walking backwards. She’s still not fighting back, even though she’s the one with a sword in her hands. “The Fire Nation—nothing is like you think it is. You need to trust me.”

“Don’t talk to me about trust.” Another burst of blue flame shoots from Catra’s fist, and she notices they’re almost at the end of the room. “You’re a traitor. I’m never going to _trust_ you again.” With a dull thud, Adora’s back hits the wall and Catra pauses. Behind them, she hears the sounds of a fight—Scorpia and Entrapta must’ve come out of hiding too, then. Catra ignores it and fixes Adora with a long and hard look. “Last chance,” she says silently. “Come home with me. We’ll fix this together. This was all one big mistake. Right?” Adora glances down at the sword in her hands and when her eyes meet Catra’s again, there’s nothing but a solemn dedication in that bright blue.

“It wasn’t,” Adora says, and with an angry yell and fierce blue flame, Catra pushes the two of them through the wall.


	7. Fight on the Roof

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> probably my shortest chapter to date but i've been busy and eager to get more content out there so !!! hope u love it, please leave a comment if u enjoyed and see u at the next one!

Any more surprises and Adora thinks she might get a heart attack. Not only did she airbend for the second time in her life—albeit with a little help from the sword—the second she did, Catra was at her throat like a hungry saber-tooth moose lioness and Adora can barely keep up with her attacks. She slices through the threatening blue bursts of fire with her own bending, backing away until they’ve reached the end of the throne room. Catra, testing boundaries as always, pushes them that little bit further than they can go.

Plaster and bricks crumble down around them, sticking in Catra’s hair like the snow that they encountered once, on a rare holiday to the mountains that tower over the small town of Shu Jing. That had been the furthest either of them had either been away from home, before. Adora swallows uneasily as her grip on the sword tightens, once more.

“I’m really sorry,” she whispers. She can feel the betrayal as well Catra, finding its root in all the things Adora has loved about the Fire Nation and her life, but she knows she can’t listen to that feeling anymore. She has a duty to the entire world now, transcending any nation loyalty. Her newfound ability to airbend has taught her that much. “I just can’t go with you. I know you think I’m making a mistake…but I promise, this is better for everyone in the long run.” Catra stands up slowly, so Adora scrambles to her feet, too.

“I don’t know how I could’ve been so blind,” Catra growls softly. “You were never taken hostage. All this time, it was just you being _selfish_.” Adora backs away again, away from the hole in the wall and into the long corridor. “I should’ve known. Always at the top of the class, always getting praise from Shadow Weaver. You were constantly proving that you’re better than me. And all this time, I actually thought we were equals.” Catra scoffs, fixing Adora with a dirty glare but from behind her come the rumbling noises of earthbending and Adora realizes the only good option right now is to make a run for it. Catra is never going to actually listen to her, not in this state.

Resolutely, Adora straightens her back and glances down both sides of the hallway. “That’s not true,” she says. “And I’m sorry that you think that. But this isn’t about you. This is about me, having to do what’s right.” There’s some movement down one end of the hall and, with one soft-spoken “goodbye, Catra,” Adora starts sprinting towards it, sword in hand.

Catra opts to chase instead of fire from a distance, so instead of blasts of blue fire all that follows Adora are loud footsteps, pounding on the decorative tiles, and Catra’s raspy voice demanding she stop and face her. The hallway brings them closer to the group of people, who Adora sees are gathered in front of the servant’s entrance to the throne room. She spots Glimmer and Bow, who are talking to a few people who had been with them in the throne room; Adora recognizes the woman shrouded in beige robes, who had spoken during the meeting, who’s only other defining features are her dark skin and even darker eyes. She’s whispering with the woman from the Water Tribe, but as soon as Bow notices her, running at full speed towards them, he breaks up their conversation.

“Adora!” he yells, “this way! Netossa, Mermista, care to lend a hand?” Adora runs past them fast, but not fast enough to miss the smirk on the waterbender’s face, as she bends her element out of the sealskin sacks attached to her belt. The other woman joins Bow and Glimmer as they take the lead and direct Adora through the maze that is the Earth Kingdom Royal Palace.

Glimmer ends up taking them to a small side corridor, ending in a heavy wooden door that reveals access to a flat, tiled roof. A natural escape route to an airbender perhaps, but as Adora scans the faces of Bow and Netossa, they seem as hesitant as she to tread on the smooth, black rooftiles. Especially when she glances down—they’re on the highest floor of the west wing of the palace, the lights of the city spreading out beyond the Upper Ring below them, reaching the horizon and probably even further still.

“What now?” Netossa asks as she glances at Glimmer, who hesitates.

“Uh…”

“Please don’t tell me you brought us here without a plan,” Adora pleads. Glimmer just crosses her arms and pouts.

“I was just trying to get you as far away from that maniacal ex-girlfriend of yours as possible, don’t blame me for taking the most elaborate route out of the palace,” she says, her words more effective in painting Adora’s cheeks red than any blast of fire previously directed at her. “They probably already lost us.”

“Catra’s not—ugh, okay, but this better work,” Adora mutters as she looks down again. With her firebending, she could probably facilitate a safe enough landing for herself… For now, she’s just hoping it won’t come to that.

“Of course it has,” Glimmer says, smirking. “I’ve spent my entire life here. I know this place better than any—” Before she can finish that thought, the wooden doors slam open again and sure enough, there stand Catra, as well as Lieutenant General Scorpia and a woman Adora recognizes as Entrapta.

“Scorpia?” Adora asks, surprised, but before she can do as much as move, Catra is already pouncing. Using the Sword of Protection to cut through the blue fire raining down on her, Adora creates enough space for herself to turn and counter with a blast of her own fire. Catra’s hands, coated in a hot, almost invisible flame, tear her attack to shreds like it’s nothing; and then they’re on opposite sides again, eyes locked in a stalemate, both hesitant to see who moves first.

From her peripheral vision, Adora sees the other’s shifting into fighting stances, too. Netossa starts throwing down a barrage of bricks on Entrapta from the wall above them, but Entrapta is an apt earthbender as well and breaks through a couple of them, redirecting others and returning some right back into Netossa’s face. It’s one of the few times Adora has ever seen the earthbender, who is famous in Fire Nation court for being Fire Lord Hordak’s closest advisor, and it’s the first time she’s seeing her in action. She’s strong and she’s fast; Entrapta doesn’t grant Netossa any opportunity to catch her breath, immediately shooting thin blades of metal from the plating that covers her limbs towards the woman, who lifts up her fists and erects a wall of roof tiles to block the attack.

On Adora’s other side, Glimmer and Bow are launching a dual attack on her former weapons teacher, which sends a strange sensation through Adora. Only a week ago, they were sparring under Scorpia’s watchful eye; now, she has to consider both Scorpia and Catra her enemies. Adora watches as Glimmer bump into Scorpia on her air scooter, knocking her off balance as Bow releases three arrows simultaneously, and tries to swallow that dirty taste that lingers in the back of her throat. Scorpia, quick as always, retaliates and knocks all of Bow’s arrows off course with a bunch of well-aimed throwing knives. She then unsheathes a pair of dual swords that Adora recognizes from class.

She sees these two fights happening on either side of her in the couple of seconds it takes for Catra to pull up her upper lip into a snarl and run towards her again. Adora drops the sword, putting it down on the roof with care, before taking on a sideways horse stance and drawing a slow breath. Though Catra is one of the most powerful firebenders in the Fire Nation, Adora knows she has the upper hand with regard to form and technique. Catra’s characteristically blue fire is engulfing her hands, dancing fiercely in the night with no regard for any of the other people on the narrow rooftop, as she approaches in a dash.

Adora watches her come, focused entirely on the fire that is burning behind Catra’s golden and blue eyes. With another deep exhale, Adora fuels her inner flame, and she feels her body temperature rise slightly as she anticipates the attack. Above them, a thousand stars are watching. Adora breathes in, catches Catra’s fire fueled punch as she ducks out of its range, and twists Catra’s wrist as her foot shoots out for a swipe at her legs.

***

For the first time during this entire mission, Catra is actually glad she’s taken Entrapta and Scorpia with her. They serve as good distractions for the airbender, the archer and the sandbender, giving herself ample opportunity to fight Adora.

Her attacks are more fierce than they’ve ever been, even with the absence of the sun, and despite the drizzle that has started over the Earth Kingdom capital. Her inner flame is burning bright and Catra is pretty sure she knows why. It’s like her anger; hot and mad and eating away at her from the inside, like the fire that flickers on the rooftiles where her blasts hit on the outside.

Adora’s face is all Catra sees as the two of them are locked in an even matched battle; Adora might have the superior technique, but Catra has never been this powerful. The whole situation, for as far as she understands it, frustrates her to no end—at this point the urge to simply smack Adora across the cheek in the hope some of her common sense returns is what keeps any semblance of fatigue at bay. Catra notices Adora wipe the sweat from her brow and sneers.

“What’s the matter?” she mocks. “Can’t keep up?” Adora frowns angrily but Catra can only smile as she jumps in close to Adora again and slams her fists forward with a hot determination. Adora grunts as she slaps her hands away, her cool blue eyes blazing as Catra sees them up close, for a split second.

Adora launches her next attack by crouching on the ground, twisting fast and creating a wheel of fire with her legs, sending it her way as she twists her body up and lands back on her feet. Catra avoids the blaze by falling down into a split, following with a counterattack in the form of two wild blasts of blue fire, coming from her fists. Adora avoids it narrowly by jumping up and firing at Catra, who in turn has to turn to defense and fight against the orange flame with her own, blue one.

They go on like this for what seems like forever. Catra’s chest is heaving with the exertion that comes from going all out already from the beginning of the fight, her uniform is wet and heavy from the drizzle rain and the roof is busted up by three fights going on at the same time, causing her to stumble more and more as time progresses. She can see the fight is taking its toll on Adora, as well; the lull in their fight lies bare just how exhausted she feels. Her stance is shaky, her form not nearly as impeccable as Catra knows it can be, and her eyes keep twitching to everything that’s happening around them. Catra grins—she’s going to make Adora pay for acting so distracted during their fight, but the moment she moves, the roof abruptly moves below her standing leg.

With a yelp, Catra waves with her arms and catches her balance before finding the culprit: it’s Entrapta with her arms raised, fingers twitching slightly as she bends the metal that Catra knows runs through her long, purple braids, bending them as if they were arms, along with the large slab of earth that’s holding them up in the air.

“Uh, Entrapta?” Catra says, eyeing their enemies carefully. The shift and the fact that they’re suspended in the air has caused a break in the fight and everyone is observing each other now; it’s almost exactly the same as how they started out, only with everyone’s clothes being soaked and the ground they’re standing on being a lot more slippery and unstable. Entrapta still hasn’t answered, instead looking at their adversaries with narrowed eyes and a slightly manic grin on her face. “Entrapta,” Catra tries again, this time with more authority. “What are you doing?”

“Shaking things up,” she smirks. “What else?”

As soon as the words leave her mouth, the earth and roof tiles crumble underneath their feet. Catra tenses up as she falls—they’re up a deadly height and a sudden fear takes a hold of her heart, freezing up her muscles. Even in the chaos, her eyes try to find Adora’s, and she sees the person she used to trust most in the world twist in mid-air, aiming powerful red blasts of fire at the ground from her fists.

She should do the same, Catra thinks. Using her firebending to fly is nothing new to her, but it’s like the shock of being dropped so suddenly has doused her inner flame, or clogged up the pathways of her chi. Catra anxiously moves through the air as she tries to get a hold on her bending, but the quickly approaching courtyard makes it impossible.

It’s so close now, it’s all Catra can see. She’s going to die here, in a strange land, estranged from the person she loves the most.

Talk about shit luck, huh?

Catra stares at the ground as she prepares for impact, but it never comes. Or rather, it comes from another side, in the shape of two warm arms that interlock around her middle and a warm body that pulls her along with it, horizontally. In a tangle of limbs, Catra lands in one of the planters that are scattered around the courtyard, utterly destroying a white dragon bush in the process. She’s still disoriented from the sudden fall so it’s only until the person that plucked her out of mid-air stands up, that Catra sees who it is. Adora’s blue eyes are filled with a worry that feels so misplaced that Catra instantly resents her for it.

“Are you alright?” she asks as Catra wipes the twigs and the clumps of earth from the breastplate and shoulder pieces of her uniform.

“I’m perfect,” Catra grunts. Her eyes scan for Entrapta and find her further back, already engaged in combat with the airbender. “Though I don’t know why you went through the trouble.”

“Catra,” Adora breathes, “it’s not like I want to see you _dead_. You are still my best friend. There is no one in the world like you, I don’t know what I would do—”

“That’s nice,” Catra replies, dryly. “But I’m also your enemy now.” She moves to stand up and tries not to look at the tortured expression on Adora’s face. It’s all scrunched up and sad, it looks like how Catra’s stomach feels and she loathes the sensation.

“I don’t see you that way,” Adora says. Doesn’t matter, Catra wants to say. Because this is how things are now, and _you_ made them this way. But she doesn’t—instead, Catra jumps out of the planter and redirects her attention to where Scorpia and Entrapta are fighting the other three. Though the difference in numbers is made up by both women’s skill, they can’t keep up with the speed at which the sandbender and the airbender archer tag-team are barraging them with a continues assault of earth, air and arrows. Catra glances over her shoulder and sees that Adora hasn’t moved.

“Are you expecting a thank you?” she asks. “Because you’re not going to get it.” Adora just shakes her head as if to rid it of some thought, and slicks back a few strands of hair that have come loose from her pony tail in their fight.

“No, I figured,” she says. “I’ve known you for longer than just today.” The stiff banter is a little too reminiscent of the past, of home and a pang shoots through Catra’s chest.

“I’ll give you a minute to catch your breath if you shut up,” she mutters, before walking off, out of their little planter sanctuary and back into the fight.

Scorpia is attacking the sandbender, slicing at her with rapid strokes from her dual swords, pushing the woman backwards with the sheer force behind the charge. The sandbender is wearing thick layers of her native element as protective gloves and arm guards as she tries to push back, to no avail. But then a yell sounds, followed by a bright flash and when the artificial stars have disappeared from Catra’s eyes, she sees the airbender knocking Entrapta off balance as the archer takes out Scorpia with a stun arrow.

From there on out, it quickly becomes clear to Catra that this is no feasible fight; their aim to get Adora back has been made impossible in pretty much every way possible and this confrontation in the lion’s den is only working to their disadvantage. Gritting her teeth and balling her wrists, Catra lets her fire flow freely again. With the help of the flames she pushes back the sandbender and crouches down next to Scorpia, Entrapta providing them with cover.

“Hey,” Catra hisses as she slaps Scorpia’s cheeks meekly. “Wake up. We have to get going.” Scorpia’s dark eyes slowly blink awake, her muscles still tensing and relaxing as an effect of the shock.

“Huh, now?” the Lieutenant General mutters. “Can’t I stay here for five more minutes?”

“No,” Catra says, decisively. She looks at Adora, who’s still standing next to the ruined white dragon. “We’re going home.”


	8. Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys it's been a while! i've been busy with school but i needed to continue this story because this morning in the shower i finally figured out where i wanted it to go. so i'm excited and filled with motivation and i needed to get this chapter out there !! not proofread as usual but i'm sure yall don't mind at this point, please leave a comment about what u liked, hated or would like to see, and see u next time !!!!

It’s been 2 hours since the fight and Adora is drinking tea. She’s back in the uniform she entered the city in, finally having discarded the scratchy Earth Kingdom tunic and all the other parts of the ridiculous costume the Queen had her put on for the meeting. The weight of the breastplate and the smell of smoke that clings to the fabric are familiar and for the first time all night, Adora feels like herself. When she’s dressed like this, she can almost forget the changes she has been through.

Leaving Catra. Airbending. Being the Avatar. Her fingers tug on the edges of the bandages that cover her arms, restlessly. They cover up the burns she earned in the fight, put there by a familiar fire.

“Adora?” Bewildered, she looks up. Bow and Glimmer are looking at her apprehensively.

“Uh, yeah, I’m fine,” Adora says, an answer to the question Bow has just asked her. They’re words without real meaning, because Adora herself doesn’t even know exactly how she feels, but the tension in the room dissipates somewhat.

Then the door opens and Queen Angella enters.

“Hey, mom,” Glimmer says, “did they find them?” Angella shakes her head, before taking a seat next to her daughter on one of the green velvet couches of the salon.

“The guards have searched the whole palace, and the Dai Li are still looking for them in the Lower Ring, but we should consider them to have gotten away,” she says. “These aren’t ordinary fugitives, as I’m sure you can confirm, Adora.” Adora nods.

“Scorpia and Entrapta are two of the most skilled women in the Fire Nation,” she says, as she looks into her cup. The dried leaves drift serenely through the water. “And Catra is as good as I am. If not better.”

“Considering they got into the palace undetected, it shouldn’t be too hard for them to get out,” Bow adds.

“We shouldn’t focus on them, now,” the Queen says, directing her next words at Adora. “Our focus should be on you. I’m sure you’ve realized by now that our priority should be to train you in the different bending arts. The world needs its Avatar, and you need teachers.” Adora straightens her spine resolutely and nods, ignoring the stinging from her wounds.

Adora doesn’t have much in personal possessions apart from what she was carrying on that fated mission in the harbor town, Mara’s sword and the clothes on her back, so after Bow and Glimmer have gathered provisions and anything else they might need on their journey, they’re off. The three of them are traveling south together with Netossa, the sandbender they had fought alongside last night, and an Air Nomad elder by the name of Spinnerella.

There’s not much that takes Adora by surprise anymore, not since all manner of secrets about herself were revealed. Still, meeting Spinnerella’s sky bison has her lost for words for a second—at least, until Kongi grunts in a loud, low noise that reverberates through Adora’s chest and pushes his big, soft head against her chest. As Adora runs her hand over the fur she finds her hands almost disappearing in the fluff.

“See? I told you he would like you,” Spinnerella says, her mouth curled up in a warm smile.

“Easy for you to say,” Netossa teases with a grin. “Kongi likes everyone.” It’s refreshing, Adora thinks as her fingers blaze trails through Kongi’s fur. The bison’s big nose nudges against her uniform as he gets used to Adora’s smell and there’s no judgement, no recognition that she is somehow fundamentally different from the other humans around her. A small smile starts growing on her face and as they take off into the skies, Adora isn’t scared. Her eyes are on the horizon and her fingers in Kongi’s white hair.

Though Spinnerella wears the tattoos that signify her mastering of the art of airbending with pride, it’s Glimmer who sits Adora down for her first airbending lesson when they make camp for the night.

“What’s the foundation for your firebending?” she asks as she takes a seat opposite of Adora, sitting down in the dirt and crossing her legs.

“Uh, my breath,” she answers as she mimics Glimmer’s posture.

“For airbending, it’s meditation,” Glimmer explains. “It’s feeling your chi flow and connect to the air around you. Close your eyes and follow my lead. This is your first lesson.”

With a patience and calm that seems a little out of place for the hotheaded girl, Glimmer takes Adora through a couple of breathing and meditation exercises, and by the time the sun has set below the looming mountain range Adora feels like she has a secure grasp on the basics. Where fire is feeling her chi burn a path through the pathways in her limbs until it bursts out in flame, air is chi carrying her body, as it flows through it freely.

“Air is the element of freedom,” Glimmer says as she moves to the right, Adora mirroring her movements. “Your forms don’t have to be as rigid or perfect, as long as you’re light on your feet.”

“That’s not exactly true,” Spinnerella intercepts with a grin, from where she and Netossa are sitting close to each other and to the fire. “Being fast and dynamic is important, but the superior airbender will always be the one who has spent adequate time training her forms.”

“Yeah, Glimmer knows _all_ about that,” Bow adds, grinning. Both Netossa and Spinnerella burst out laughing, too and Adora grins. The pout on Glimmer’s face is immediate and she starts talking about her many, _many_ victories even in the face of her teacher telling her she didn’t practice enough. It all reminds Adora of being bathed in sunshine, teasing Catra over her sloppy stances back in the palace garden, which always ended in one of them pouncing on the other for an impromptu wrestling match.

Here, in the twilight, the fire casts long shadows over their grinning faces and though it’s so different from home, it does somehow feel like it. Early in the morning they’re on their way again, leaving behind the rocky waste that stretches around Ba Sing Se for good as they cross the river that designates the boundary of the Si Wong desert.

Soon, there is just sand around them, stretching as far as the eye can see on all sides. It’s very disorienting, but Netossa shows them her compass, that she explains always points to the magnetic rock formation in the middle of the desert, allowing them to navigate. Bow’s eyes grow wide and he and Netossa launch into a conversation about magnetism, navigation, star maps and other things Adora doesn’t know too much about. It leaves her and Glimmer sitting at the back of Kongi’s saddle, both cross-legged for an impromptu airbending lesson.

“This is perfect, actually,” Glimmer starts, her teeth gleaming in the sun as she grins. “Learning airbending on the back of a flying bison.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Adora replies as she pushes back the strands of hair that have come loose from her ponytail thanks to the powerful gusts of wind that buffet them this high up. She thanks the spirits she’s not scared of heights.

After meditating for a while, Adora finds Glimmer was right. She feels her chi connect to the streams of air that brush past her cheeks, her hair, the still sensitive skin on her arms and the cuts on her hands. Whereas firebending meant directing inward chi outward and transform it into flame, airbending is all about extending chi to the environment and manipulating it. It’s roughly the same principle as transferring fire from one hearth to another, Adora thinks as she stands on Kongi’s back, moving in circles while adopting the forms Glimmer taught her.

“Be the leaf, Adora,” Glimmer says as she watches her move. “Don’t think of the wind as an obstacle that could potentially blow you off the back of this bison, but as something that carries you.” Adora staggers in her movement and almost tumbles off Kongi at that comment, managing to catch herself on the edge of the saddle right on time.

“Uh, yeah, that’s very helpful,” she deadpans as Bow starts laughing.

“Don’t worry,” he says. “I’m sure Glimmer will fly right down to get you when you fall. Her mom will never let her live it down if she let the Avatar die on her watch.”

“Ugh, she’d ground me for the rest of my _life_,” Glimmer sighs, throwing her head back and looking at the cerulean sky. Adora snickers at that.

“I’ll make sure not to fall off, then,” she says. “I might be a firebender, but I’m not actually that cruel.”

“Good,” Glimmer says, smirking. “Now, back on your feet, soldier. The earlier I teach you how to use a glider properly, the safer my freedom will be. And you, of course.” Mirroring her grin, Adora gets back up and starts moving again. She tries to focus on connecting to the wind as it blows past her, her hands spread open as she goes through the forms.

And sure enough, when the sweat drips from her brow, Adora notices a shift in the air. It’s started whirling around her, following the movements of her arms as she twists and as the realization hits, she glances at Glimmer with wide eyes.

“Did I just—” The streams of air she wields feel powerful, like she could create a storm at the merest flick of her wrist. It’s somehow just like when she airbended back in the throne room and not at all.

“Yeah!” Glimmer exclaims excitedly. “Congratulations, Adora. You’re an airbender now.”

***

The catacombs under Ba Sing Se are filled with the strangest pale green crystals that glow in the dark. Their color shifts in the light of Catra’s blue flame and their shadows dance on the wet stone walls as they make their way back in vaguely the same direction they came from. Entrapta tells some tale about how the ancient civilization that founded the capital used to live here, below ground, where they would mine the glowing crystals and sell them to nobles throughout the Earth Kingdom; Catra barely listens. The endless corridors and rooms they walk through do match the story. The carved decorations in the walls are faded, old and crumbling, and the icy ground water that drips from the ceiling down onto her neck has Catra’s hair stand upright pretty much constantly.

But the endless halls end in a pile of rubble eventually, so Entrapta bends them a route back to the surface and they find their way back to the fields and farms, that house the last people before the wasteland outside the great, impenetrable wall begins. They must look out of place here, Catra thinks fleetingly as she looks at their dark red, dusty uniforms, but she’s tired from the fighting and running through the night, and beyond caring at this point. She’s just staring ahead at the gigantic wall, seeing it get just a little bigger with every step.

It’s only when they’ve almost reached it that Scorpia says: “Hey, wait. What about June?” Catra squints against the high noon sun as she turns back to face her.

“…Who?”

“The shirshui,” Entrapta says. “She would come in handy. Traveling back on foot will take us at least three times as long to get back to the ship.

“Oh, right,” Catra says. “Uh, you guys remember who we dropped her off at, right?”

Their journey back does go fast on a shirshui’s back and as soon as Catra has accepted they’ve left Adora behind for good, they’re already back on the ship and gliding through the waters of the capital’s harbor, passing through the Gates of Azulon. The wind here is laced with salt and something familiar, and it whips against her face and pulls on her clothes. Catra is on the deck, watching the plaza and the palace approach. She briefly wonders what they will think of her; one half of an inseparable pair, returned home incomplete. Though Adora had made it painfully clear that this was her own decision, Catra can’t help but feel responsible for her treason. Out of anyone, _she_ should have been able to change her mind. Adora and Catra, two sides of the same coin. And she failed.

The dimly lit halls of the palace seem even darker than usual as Catra walks through them, on her way to her room. On her own, after Entrapta basically disappeared upon arrival and Scorpia offered to take on the debriefing. She feels like shit, the burns on her hands and arms from fighting with Adora are irritated from the lack of treatment and really, all she wants is to fall into the bed she can’t remember last sleeping in and staying there.

Of course, Shadow Weaver is waiting for her in the corridor that leads to her room. Catra sighs as soon as those piercing yellow eyes find her from above the cloth and goes through the movement of standing up straight and saluting mechanically.

“Shadow Weaver,” she greets. “We’re back.”

“So I see,” her mentor answers. “Walk with me.” Begrudgingly Catra follows as Shadow Weaver walks her back the way she came from. “Tell me everything that happened in Ba Sing Se.”

As they walk along the patio overlooking one of the smaller gardens, Catra tells her everything: from the journey to entering the city, finding Adora, _fighting_ Adora, and then returning back home again. She describes everything in detail, as she remembers it—everything but the words they spoke to each other. It doesn’t matter exactly what was said, Catra thinks as she summarizes: “I asked her to come home with me. She said no.” Shadow Weaver’s watchful eyes seem to soften.

They turn a corner and suddenly, Shadow Weaver freezes, before bowing deeply. And there’s only one person she bows for, so Catra quickly follows and as she straightens again, sees Fire Lord Hordak standing in front of them. To her surprise, Entrapta is by his side, hanging off his arm in matching red velvet robes. She smiles as she sees Catra and winks covertly at her.

“Welcome back, Catra,” he says, in his tranquil, low voice. “How are you doing? I heard about the unfortunate result of your mission.” Catra can feel the heat rush to her cheeks and looks at her feet, and her reflection in the shiny black tiles.

“It didn’t go as planned. But we will persevere,” Catra says, lifting her head and locking her jaw. “I will train my hardest to be a worthy successor, and I will ensure victory for the Fire Nation in all endeavors abroad.” She bows her head again, this time in a show of respect instead of a way of hiding her face. “That I swear.” The Fire Lord smiles appreciative.

“That’s good to hear. I trust you’ll see to her training personally, Shadow Weaver.”

“Of course,” Shadow Weaver speaks.

That marks the end of their exchange. Shadow Weaver and Catra remain where they are until the Fire Lord has passed, as is the custom. Catra is still watching Entrapta’s purple braids sway where she walks alongside Hordak, arms linked, when Shadow Weaver speaks.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” she says in a soft voice. Catra’s eyes widen, surprised. “I know how much you loathe losing.”

“Not every mission can succeed,” Catra murmurs. “I’ll do better next time.”

“I know you will,” Shadow Weaver says. They start walking again. “Have I ever told you about my very last mission, before I assumed my position at the academy?”

“I don’t think so.” With sure steps, Shadow Weaver steps into the sunlight and guides them through the gardens.

“When I was still an active member of the military, I briefly held a position at the Earth Kingdom court, as an advisor to the Earth King,” she starts, her eyes on the foliage in front of them. “This was before the Fire Nation had an active influence in the other nations, before the culture of international hostility against us had taken root. I was a respected member of the court, as I was instructed to be by the Fire Lord.”

“You were an advisor to the Earth King…for a mission?” The notion seems bizarre to Catra, especially after personally encountering the hostility against the Fire Nation.

“They didn’t know, of course,” Shadow Weaver continues. “To them, I was a traitor to my home, a valuable asset.”

“So what did you do?” Catra asks. They’re back at the corridor that will lead them back to where they started.

“I completed my mission,” Shadow Weaver says, her yellow eyes seeming far away. “I assassinated the Earth King, subsequently throwing the Kingdom into disarray and clearing the road for the Fire Nation troops to enter into the country.”

Rationally, Catra knows that Shadow Weaver has had an impressive military career. Hearing her say she killed someone out loud, though… It makes a shiver run down her spine. “Do you know why I told you this?” Shadow Weaver asks as Catra stays silent. She shakes her head. “Sometimes, there is nothing you can do to prevent a mission from failing. As long as you do whatever it takes.”

“Okay,” Catra nods.

“Go and rest,” Shadow Weaver says, before turning around. “I will train you personally in the morning.”

Catra barely even remembers falling asleep; all she knows is that the sun comes up far too soon, and before she knows it she’s alone with Shadow Weaver again. It’s dawn and they’re back in the garden, instead of one of the training rooms. Although she usually despises training under Shadow Weaver, the prospect of a private lesson has her itching to start.

“Your firebending is strong, but lacks precision,” her mentor begins. “Yet precision lies at the fundament of the technique I am about to teach you.” Catra raises an eyebrow.

“What, combustion bending?” she says. It’s a technique she’s heard about once or twice, that apparently requires rigorous control over one’s chi. “I don’t think I have the talent for that.” Shadow Weaver fixes her with a silent glare.

“Maybe, but that’s not what I mean. Today I’m going to teach you to produce lightning.” Immediately Catra’s eyes widen and she grins. By means of example, Shadow Weaver gets in a stance and moves her arms as she bends her chi. Electricity starts to crackle around her body and her movements start to speed up, eventually accumulating in her stretched right arm, following her index and middle finger as she points it at the sky. And instead of fire, out comes a powerful, sizzling burst of lightning.

“Woah,” Catra breathes. Not even waiting on Shadow Weaver to tell her to do so, she gets in her stance and starts breathing deeply. This ought to be easy, Catra thinks, when she can already feel the electricity run through her limbs in the sheer anticipation of learning a technique like this. It feels like she could create a storm right here in the palace garden, if she’d let her chi flow freely from her fingers. The knowledge that this is something Adora has never learnt only adds to that feeling. “Let’s get started.”


End file.
